leave

CEFRA1

/ˈliːv/

verb · noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    verb

    To go away from a place or person.

  2. 02

    verb

    To let something remain in a particular place or condition.

Examples

  • Please do not leave your personal belongings unattended in the library.

  • Tell them to call me before they leave.

At a glance

Sits at A1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Also pronounced

  • [ˈlɪi̯v]

Deep Dive

verb

Extra meanings
  1. To have a consequence or remnant.

  2. To cause or allow (something) to remain as available; to refrain from taking (something) away; to stop short of consuming or otherwise depleting (something) entirely.

noun

Extra meaning
  1. Permission or time away from work or duty.

More examples

In context
  • Close the door when you leave.

  • I left my car at home and took a bus to work.

  • The ants did not leave so much as a crumb of bread.

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

Employees must blank the building immediately when the fire alarm sounds continuously.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

verb

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”). Cognate with Old Frisian lēva (“to leave”), dialectal Dutch loven (“to have left over, save, keep”), Old Saxon lēvian, Old High German leiban (“to leave”), Old Norse leifa (“to leave over”) (whence Icelandic leifa (“to leave food uneaten”), Swedish leva (“to leave”)), lifna (“to be left”) (whence Danish levne). More at lave, belive. The noun is attested since the 19th century, with earliest references to billiards.