leave1
verb (past and past part. left) 1 go away from. 2 cease living at, attending, or working for: he left home at 16. 3 allow or cause to remain; go away without taking. 4 (be left) remain to be used or dealt with: drink left over from the wedding. 5 cause to be in a particular state or position: leave the door open. 6 let (someone) do something without assistance or interference. 7 (leave to) entrust (a decision, choice, or action) to. 8 deposit (something) to be collected or attended to. 9 have as (a surviving relative) after ones death. bequeath. PHRASES leave be informal refrain from disturbing or interfering with (someone). leave go informal remove ones hold or grip. leave hold of cease holding. leave much (or a lot) to be desired be highly unsatisfactory. leave off 1 discontinue or stop. 2 cease to wear. leave out fail to include. DERIVATIVES leaver noun. ORIGIN Old English.
Perform another search of the Compact Oxford English Dictionary
About this dictionary
The Compact Oxford English Dictionary of Current English contains 145,000 words, phrases, and definitions.
Find out more about Oxford's range of English dictionaries
Sign up for the AskOxford Word of the Day
Search the Little Oxford Dictionary of Quotations
Search the Concise Dictionary of First Names
|