lean
//ˈliːn//
Forms
- present (v1)
- lean
- past (v2)
- leaned
- past participle (v3)
- leaned
- present participle
- leaning
- 3rd person singular
- leans
- Comparative
- leaner
- Superlative
- leanest
- Plural
- leans
Definitions
1.To incline, deviate, or bend, from a vertical position; to be in a position thus inclining or deviating.
- She leaned out of the window.
2.To incline in opinion or desire; to conform in conduct; often with to, toward, etc.
- I’m leaning towards voting Conservative in the next election.
- The Hispanic vote leans Democratic.
3.To rest or rely, for support, comfort, to use as a hard surface for writing, etc.
- He lean'd not on his fathers but himself.
- The slightest effort made the patient cough. He would stand leaning on a stick and holding a hand to his side, and when the paroxysm had passed it left him shaking.
4.To hang outwards.
- Don't lean against this wall.
1.An inclination away from the vertical.
- The trees had various leans toward gaps in the canopy.
1.Slim; not fleshy.
- They will now dedicate several hours at the gym every day to be leaner and stronger.
2.Having little fat.
- The butcher and the porkman painted up only the leanest scrags of meat; the baker, the coarsest of meagre loaves.
3.Having little extra or little to spare; scanty; meagre.
Frequency
Overall
Common· #1862
By learning goal
- Everyday conversation
- Rare
- General reading & writing
- Uncommon
- Academic
- Rare
- Literature
- Common
Etymology
From Middle English lenen (“to lean”), from Old English hleonian, hlinian (“to lean, recline, lie down, rest”), from Proto-West Germanic *hlinēn, from Proto-Germanic *hlināną (“to lean, incline”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱley-.