leave
Forms
- present (v1)
- leave
- past (v2)
- left
- past participle (v3)
- left
- present participle
- leaving
- 3rd person singular
- leaves
- Plural
- leaves
Definitions
1.To have a consequence or remnant.
- I left my car at home and took a bus to work.
- We should leave the legal matters to lawyers.
- The accident left the car a heap of twisted metal.
2.To depart; to separate from.
- I left him to his reflections.
- I'll leave it to you to decide.
- His bow and arrow never leaves him.
3.To transfer something.
- Can't we just leave this to the experts?
- When my father died, he left me the house.
- I'll leave the car in the station so you can pick it up there.
4.To give leave to; allow; permit; let; grant.
- Did you leave the window open?
- I'd leave things as they are to avoid problems.
1.The action of the batsman not attempting to play at the ball.
- He made 45 leaves in his innings of 64.
2.The arrangement of balls in play that remains after a shot is made (which determines whether the next shooter, who may be either the same player, or an opponent, has good options, or only poor ones).
3.The tiles remaining on a player's rack after his or her turn.
- I didn't score much, but LING was a good leave.
4.Permission to be absent; time away from one's work.
- I've just been given three weeks' leave by my boss, I don't think I still have some leave owing to me.
Frequency
Overall
Very common· #152
By learning goal
- Everyday conversation
- Common
- General reading & writing
- Very common
- Academic
- Uncommon
- Literature
- Common
Related words
Etymology
From Middle English leven, from Old English lǣfan (“to leave”), from Proto-West Germanic *laibijan, from Proto-Germanic *laibijaną (“to let stay, leave”), causative of *lībaną (“to stay, remain”), from Proto-Indo-European *leyp- (“to stick; fat”).