lean

CEFRC1

/ˈliːn/

verb · adjective

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    verb

    To rest against something for support or move to one side.

  2. 02

    adjective

    Having little body fat or little extra material.

Examples

  • He has a strong shoulder for you to lean on.

  • John is as lean as a wolf.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Also pronounced

  • [ˈlɪi̯n] ~ [ˈlɪ̈i̯n]

Deep Dive

verb

Extra meanings

  1. To incline in opinion or desire; to conform in conduct; often with to, toward, etc.

  2. To rest or rely, for support, comfort, to use as a hard surface for writing, etc.

  3. To incline, deviate, or bend, from a vertical position; to be in a position thus inclining or deviating.

More examples

In context

  • Don't lean against the wall.

  • I’m leaning towards voting Conservative in the next election.

  • She leaned out of the window.

Synonyms

Antonyms

Quick test

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Question 1 · Quick check

I had to blank forward to see the stage because the person in front was tall.

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Nearby

Origin

verb

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-. Cognate via Proto-Germanic with Middle Dutch leunen (“to lean”), German lehnen (“to lean”); via Proto-Indo-European with climate, cline.