leave
♦♦♦ leave /l'iːv/ (leaves leaving left)
1 [VERB] V n, V n, V, V for n
If you leave a place or person, you go away from that place or person.
He would not be allowed to leave the country...
I simply couldn't bear to leave my little girl...
My flight leaves in less than an hour...
The last of the older children had left for school.
2 [VERB] V n, V, V-ing
If you leave an institution, group, or job, you permanently stop attending that institution, being a member of that group, or doing that job.
He left school with no qualifications...
I am leaving to concentrate on writing fiction.
...a leaving present.
3 [VERB] V n, V n for n, also V
If you leave your husband, wife, or some other person with whom you have had a close relationship, you stop living with them or you finish the relationship.
He'll never leave you. You need have no worry...
I would be insanely jealous if Bill left me for another woman.
4 [VERB] V n prep/adv, V n with n
If you leave something or someone in a particular place, you let them remain there when you go away. If you leave something or someone with a person, you let them remain with that person so they are safe while you are away.
From the moment that Philippe had left her in the bedroom at the hotel, she had heard nothing of him...
Leave your key with a neighbour in case you lock yourself out one day.
5 [VERB] V n prep/adv, V n, V n with n
If you leave a message or an answer, you write it, record it, or give it to someone so that it can be found or passed on.
You can leave a message on our answering machine...
Decide whether the ball is in square A, B, C, or D, then call and leave your answer...
I left my phone number with several people.
6 [VERB] V n -ing
If you leave someone doing something, they are doing that thing when you go away from them.
Salter drove off, leaving Callendar surveying the scene.
7 [VERB] V n to-inf, V n to it, be V-ed to pron-refl
If you leave someone to do something, you go away from them so that they do it on their own. If you leave someone to himself or herself, you go away from them and allow them to be alone.
I'd better leave you to get on with it, then...
Diana took the hint and left them to it...
One of the advantages of a department store is that you are left to yourself to try things on...
8 [VERB] V n for n, V n n
To leave an amount of something means to keep it available after the rest has been used or taken away.
He always left a little food for the next day...
Double rooms at any of the following hotels should leave you some change from £150.
9 [VERB]
If you take one number away from another, you can say that it leaves the number that remains. For example, five take away two leaves three.
= equal
10 [VERB] V n with n
To leave someone with something, especially when that thing is unpleasant or difficult to deal with, means to make them have it or make them responsible for it.
...a crash which left him with a broken collar-bone...
11 [VERB] V n adj, V n prep/adv
If an event leaves people or things in a particular state, they are in that state when the event has finished.
...violent disturbances which have left at least ten people dead...
The documentary left me in a state of shock...
12 [VERB] V n
If you leave food or drink, you do not eat or drink it, often because you do not like it.
If you don't like the cocktail you ordered, just leave it and try a different one.
13 [VERB] V n
If something leaves a mark, effect, or sign, it causes that mark, effect, or sign to remain as a result.
A muscle tear will leave a scar after healing...
14 [VERB] V n adj, V n adv/prep, V n -ing
If you leave something in a particular state, position, or condition, you let it remain in that state, position, or condition.
He left the album open on the table...
I've left the car lights on...
I left the engine running.
15 [VERB] V n
If you leave a space or gap in something, you deliberately make that space or gap.
Leave a gap at the top and bottom so air can circulate.
16 [VERB] V n to n, V it to n to-inf, V n to-inf
If you leave a job, decision, or choice to someone, you give them the responsibility for dealing with it or making it.
Affix the blue airmail label and leave the rest to us...
The judge should not have left it to the jury to decide...
For the moment, I leave you to take all decisions.
17 [VERB] V amount to n
If you say that something such as an arrangement or an agreement leaves a lot to another thing or person, you are critical of it because it is not adequate and its success depends on the other thing or person.
The ceasefire leaves a lot to the goodwill of the forces involved...
18 [VERB] V n n, be V-ed with n
To leave someone with a particular course of action or the opportunity to do something means to let it be available to them, while restricting them in other ways.
This left me only one possible course of action...
He was left with no option but to resign.
19 [VERB] V n until/to n
If you leave something until a particular time, you delay doing it or dealing with it until then.
Don't leave it all until the last minute.
[PHRASE] V inflects
If you leave something too late, you delay doing it so that when you eventually do it, it is useless or ineffective.
I hope I haven't left it too late.
20 [VERB] V n, V n prep/adv
If you leave a particular subject, you stop talking about it and start discussing something else.
I think we'd better leave the subject of Nationalism...
He suggested we get together for a drink sometime. I said I'd like that, and we left it there.
21 [VERB] V n to n
If you leave property or money to someone, you arrange for it to be given to them after you have died.
He died two and a half years later, leaving everything to his wife.
22 [N-UNCOUNT] oft on N
Leave is a period of time when you are not working at your job, because you are on holiday or vacation, or for some other reason. If you are on leave, you are not working at your job.
Why don't you take a few days' leave?
...maternity leave...
He is home on leave from the Navy.
23
see also left
24 [PHRASE] V inflects
If you leave someone or something alone, or if you leave them be, you do not pay them any attention or bother them.
Some people need to confront a traumatic past; others find it better to leave it alone...
Why can't you leave him be?
25 [PHRASE] PHR after v, oft from PHR
If something continues from where it left off, it starts happening again at the point where it had previously stopped.
As soon as the police disappear the violence will take up from where it left off.
26
to leave a lot to be desired: see desire
to leave someone to their own devices: see device
to take leave of your senses: see sense
take it or leave it: see takecom|pas|sion|ate leave
[N-UNCOUNT]
Compassionate leave is time away from your work that your employer allows you for personal reasons, especially when a member of your family dies or is seriously ill. (BUSINESS)gar|den|ing leave
[N-UNCOUNT]
If someone who leaves their job is given gardening leave, they continue to receive their salary and in return they agree not to work for anyone else for a period of time. (BRIT BUSINESS)
The settlement means that the three executives can return from gardening leave and start their new jobs.leave behind
1 [PHRASAL VERB] V n P, V P n (not pron)
If you leave someone or something behind, you go away permanently from them.
Many of the women had left their husbands behind and they told of their fears that they may never see them again...
We hear of women who run away, leaving behind their homes and families.
2 [PHRASAL VERB] V n P, V P n (not pron)
If you leave behind an object or a situation, it remains after you have left a place.
I don't want to leave anything behind...
A misty rain in the morning had left behind a coolness that would stay for hours.
3 [PHRASAL VERB] be V-ed P, get V-ed P, V n P
If a person, country, or organization is left behind, they remain at a lower level than others because they are not as quick at understanding things or developing.
We're going to be left behind by the rest of the world...
I got left behind at school with the maths...
Inflation has left them way behind.leave of ab|sence (leaves of absence)
[N-VAR]
If you have leave of absence you have permission to be away from work for a certain period.leave off
1 [PHRASAL VERB] be V-ed P n, V n P n, also V n P
If someone or something is left off a list, they are not included on that list.
She has been deliberately left off the guest list...
The judge left Walsh's name off the list of those he wanted arrested.
2 [PHRASAL VERB] V P -ing, V P n (not pron)
If someone leaves off doing something, they stop doing it.
We all left off eating and stood about with bowed heads...
Some of the patients left off treatment.
= stopleave out
[PHRASAL VERB] V n P of n, V P n (not pron), V n P
If you leave someone or something out of an activity, collection, discussion, or group, you do not include them in it.
Some would question the wisdom of leaving her out of the team...
If you prefer mild flavours reduce or leave out the chilli...
Now have we left any country out?
[PHRASE] V inflects
If someone feels left out, they feel sad because they are not included in a group or activity.pa|ren|tal leave
[N-UNCOUNT]
Parental leave is time away from work, usually without pay, that parents are allowed in order to look after their children. (BUSINESS)
Parents are entitled to 13 weeks' parental leave.pa|ter|nity leave
[N-UNCOUNT]
If a man has paternity leave, his employer allows him some time off work because his child has just been born. (BUSINESS)sick leave
[N-UNCOUNT] oft on N
Sick leave is the time that a person spends away from work because of illness or injury. (BUSINESS)
I have been on sick leave for seven months with depression.
1 [VERB] V n, V n, V, V for n
If you leave a place or person, you go away from that place or person.
He would not be allowed to leave the country...
I simply couldn't bear to leave my little girl...
My flight leaves in less than an hour...
The last of the older children had left for school.
2 [VERB] V n, V, V-ing
If you leave an institution, group, or job, you permanently stop attending that institution, being a member of that group, or doing that job.
He left school with no qualifications...
I am leaving to concentrate on writing fiction.
...a leaving present.
3 [VERB] V n, V n for n, also V
If you leave your husband, wife, or some other person with whom you have had a close relationship, you stop living with them or you finish the relationship.
He'll never leave you. You need have no worry...
I would be insanely jealous if Bill left me for another woman.
4 [VERB] V n prep/adv, V n with n
If you leave something or someone in a particular place, you let them remain there when you go away. If you leave something or someone with a person, you let them remain with that person so they are safe while you are away.
From the moment that Philippe had left her in the bedroom at the hotel, she had heard nothing of him...
Leave your key with a neighbour in case you lock yourself out one day.
5 [VERB] V n prep/adv, V n, V n with n
If you leave a message or an answer, you write it, record it, or give it to someone so that it can be found or passed on.
You can leave a message on our answering machine...
Decide whether the ball is in square A, B, C, or D, then call and leave your answer...
I left my phone number with several people.
6 [VERB] V n -ing
If you leave someone doing something, they are doing that thing when you go away from them.
Salter drove off, leaving Callendar surveying the scene.
7 [VERB] V n to-inf, V n to it, be V-ed to pron-refl
If you leave someone to do something, you go away from them so that they do it on their own. If you leave someone to himself or herself, you go away from them and allow them to be alone.
I'd better leave you to get on with it, then...
Diana took the hint and left them to it...
One of the advantages of a department store is that you are left to yourself to try things on...
8 [VERB] V n for n, V n n
To leave an amount of something means to keep it available after the rest has been used or taken away.
He always left a little food for the next day...
Double rooms at any of the following hotels should leave you some change from £150.
9 [VERB]
If you take one number away from another, you can say that it leaves the number that remains. For example, five take away two leaves three.
= equal
10 [VERB] V n with n
To leave someone with something, especially when that thing is unpleasant or difficult to deal with, means to make them have it or make them responsible for it.
...a crash which left him with a broken collar-bone...
11 [VERB] V n adj, V n prep/adv
If an event leaves people or things in a particular state, they are in that state when the event has finished.
...violent disturbances which have left at least ten people dead...
The documentary left me in a state of shock...
12 [VERB] V n
If you leave food or drink, you do not eat or drink it, often because you do not like it.
If you don't like the cocktail you ordered, just leave it and try a different one.
13 [VERB] V n
If something leaves a mark, effect, or sign, it causes that mark, effect, or sign to remain as a result.
A muscle tear will leave a scar after healing...
14 [VERB] V n adj, V n adv/prep, V n -ing
If you leave something in a particular state, position, or condition, you let it remain in that state, position, or condition.
He left the album open on the table...
I've left the car lights on...
I left the engine running.
15 [VERB] V n
If you leave a space or gap in something, you deliberately make that space or gap.
Leave a gap at the top and bottom so air can circulate.
16 [VERB] V n to n, V it to n to-inf, V n to-inf
If you leave a job, decision, or choice to someone, you give them the responsibility for dealing with it or making it.
Affix the blue airmail label and leave the rest to us...
The judge should not have left it to the jury to decide...
For the moment, I leave you to take all decisions.
17 [VERB] V amount to n
If you say that something such as an arrangement or an agreement leaves a lot to another thing or person, you are critical of it because it is not adequate and its success depends on the other thing or person.
The ceasefire leaves a lot to the goodwill of the forces involved...
18 [VERB] V n n, be V-ed with n
To leave someone with a particular course of action or the opportunity to do something means to let it be available to them, while restricting them in other ways.
This left me only one possible course of action...
He was left with no option but to resign.
19 [VERB] V n until/to n
If you leave something until a particular time, you delay doing it or dealing with it until then.
Don't leave it all until the last minute.
[PHRASE] V inflects
If you leave something too late, you delay doing it so that when you eventually do it, it is useless or ineffective.
I hope I haven't left it too late.
20 [VERB] V n, V n prep/adv
If you leave a particular subject, you stop talking about it and start discussing something else.
I think we'd better leave the subject of Nationalism...
He suggested we get together for a drink sometime. I said I'd like that, and we left it there.
21 [VERB] V n to n
If you leave property or money to someone, you arrange for it to be given to them after you have died.
He died two and a half years later, leaving everything to his wife.
22 [N-UNCOUNT] oft on N
Leave is a period of time when you are not working at your job, because you are on holiday or vacation, or for some other reason. If you are on leave, you are not working at your job.
Why don't you take a few days' leave?
...maternity leave...
He is home on leave from the Navy.
23
see also left
24 [PHRASE] V inflects
If you leave someone or something alone, or if you leave them be, you do not pay them any attention or bother them.
Some people need to confront a traumatic past; others find it better to leave it alone...
Why can't you leave him be?
25 [PHRASE] PHR after v, oft from PHR
If something continues from where it left off, it starts happening again at the point where it had previously stopped.
As soon as the police disappear the violence will take up from where it left off.
26
to leave a lot to be desired: see desire
to leave someone to their own devices: see device
to take leave of your senses: see sense
take it or leave it: see takecom|pas|sion|ate leave
[N-UNCOUNT]
Compassionate leave is time away from your work that your employer allows you for personal reasons, especially when a member of your family dies or is seriously ill. (BUSINESS)gar|den|ing leave
[N-UNCOUNT]
If someone who leaves their job is given gardening leave, they continue to receive their salary and in return they agree not to work for anyone else for a period of time. (BRIT BUSINESS)
The settlement means that the three executives can return from gardening leave and start their new jobs.leave behind
1 [PHRASAL VERB] V n P, V P n (not pron)
If you leave someone or something behind, you go away permanently from them.
Many of the women had left their husbands behind and they told of their fears that they may never see them again...
We hear of women who run away, leaving behind their homes and families.
2 [PHRASAL VERB] V n P, V P n (not pron)
If you leave behind an object or a situation, it remains after you have left a place.
I don't want to leave anything behind...
A misty rain in the morning had left behind a coolness that would stay for hours.
3 [PHRASAL VERB] be V-ed P, get V-ed P, V n P
If a person, country, or organization is left behind, they remain at a lower level than others because they are not as quick at understanding things or developing.
We're going to be left behind by the rest of the world...
I got left behind at school with the maths...
Inflation has left them way behind.leave of ab|sence (leaves of absence)
[N-VAR]
If you have leave of absence you have permission to be away from work for a certain period.leave off
1 [PHRASAL VERB] be V-ed P n, V n P n, also V n P
If someone or something is left off a list, they are not included on that list.
She has been deliberately left off the guest list...
The judge left Walsh's name off the list of those he wanted arrested.
2 [PHRASAL VERB] V P -ing, V P n (not pron)
If someone leaves off doing something, they stop doing it.
We all left off eating and stood about with bowed heads...
Some of the patients left off treatment.
= stopleave out
[PHRASAL VERB] V n P of n, V P n (not pron), V n P
If you leave someone or something out of an activity, collection, discussion, or group, you do not include them in it.
Some would question the wisdom of leaving her out of the team...
If you prefer mild flavours reduce or leave out the chilli...
Now have we left any country out?
[PHRASE] V inflects
If someone feels left out, they feel sad because they are not included in a group or activity.pa|ren|tal leave
[N-UNCOUNT]
Parental leave is time away from work, usually without pay, that parents are allowed in order to look after their children. (BUSINESS)
Parents are entitled to 13 weeks' parental leave.pa|ter|nity leave
[N-UNCOUNT]
If a man has paternity leave, his employer allows him some time off work because his child has just been born. (BUSINESS)sick leave
[N-UNCOUNT] oft on N
Sick leave is the time that a person spends away from work because of illness or injury. (BUSINESS)
I have been on sick leave for seven months with depression.