leave | meaning of leave in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English | LDOCE
leave
leave
1
/
liːv
/
●●●
S1
W1
verb
(
past tense and past participle
left
/
left
/
)
1
go away
[
intransitive, transitive
]
LEAVE A PLACE
to go away from a place or a person
My baby gets upset when I leave the room.
Before leaving the train, make sure you have all your belongings with you.
Leave the motorway at Junction 7.
leave at
The plane leaves at 12.30.
leave for
I tried calling him, but he’d already left for work.
leave (something/somebody) soon/now/later etc
If he left immediately, he’d catch the 7.30 train.
leave (something/somebody) to do something
Frances left work early to meet her mother.
leave somebody doing something
Never leave children playing near water unattended.
leave somebody to something
I’ll
leave
you
to it
(=
go away and let you continue with what you are doing
)
.
My youngest boy has
not left
my
side
(=
has stayed near me
)
since his daddy was killed.
leave somebody in peace
(=
go away from someone so that they can think, work etc alone
)
Just a few more questions, then we’ll leave you in peace.
2
stop
[
intransitive, transitive
]
if you leave your job, home, school etc, you permanently stop doing that job, living at home etc
Over the past two years, 20 staffers have left.
leave home/school/college etc
How old were you when you left home
(=
your parents’ home
)
?
My daughter got a job after she left school.
The lawsuit will be postponed until the president
leaves office
.
leave a job/country/Spain etc
Many missionaries were forced to leave the country.
It seems that Tony has
left
the band
for good
(=
permanently
)
.
leave (somebody/something) to do something
Laura left her native England to live in France.
4
let something/somebody stay
[
transitive always + adverb/preposition
]
REMAIN/BE LEFT
to make or allow something or someone to stay in a place when you go away
leave something/somebody in/with/behind etc
Are you leaving the kids with Grandma on Saturday?
As soon as I’d shut the door, I realized I’d left the keys inside.
Did anybody leave a jacket behind last night?
She
left
her son
in the care of
a friend.
leave somebody to do something
He left Ruth to find her own way home.
Students were
left to
their
own devices
(=
left alone and allowed to do whatever they wanted
)
for long periods.
leave somebody for dead
The girl had been attacked and left for dead.
5
not change/move something
[
transitive
]
ARRANGE A GROUP OF THINGS OR PEOPLE
to let something remain in a particular state, position, or condition
leave something on/off/out etc
You’ve left your lights on.
She must have left the phone off the hook.
leave something open/empty/untidy etc
I wish you’d stop leaving the door open.
The trial left many questions unanswered.
leave a space/gap etc
Leave the next two lines blank for the tutor’s comments.
Drivers should always
leave room
for cyclists.
leave something doing something
I’ll just leave the engine running while I go in.
Don’t
leave
tools
lying about
.
leave something to do something
Leave the pots to soak overnight.
6
result of accident/illness/event
[
transitive
]
CAUSE
if an event, accident illness etc leaves you in a particular condition, you are in that condition because of it
An explosion at a chemical plant has left one worker dead and four injured.
leave somebody with something
Although the infection cleared up, he was left with a persistent cough.
leave somebody doing something
The incident left her feeling confused and hurt.
The announcement has left shareholders nursing huge losses.
7
→
be left
8
letter/message/thing
[
transitive
]
PUT
to deliver a message, note, package etc for someone or put it somewhere so that they will get it later
She left a message on his answerphone.
leave somebody something
Can you leave me some money for the bus?
leave something with somebody
Ian left this note with me.
leave something for somebody
A guy left these flowers for you.
9
delay
[
transitive
]
NOT DO something
to not do something or to do it later than you intended
Leave the dishes. I’ll do them later.
So much had been
left undone
.
leave something until the last minute/until last
If you
leave
your preparation
until the last minute
, you’ll reduce your chances of passing.
I left the best bit until last.
I want to think about it. Can I
leave
it
for now
?
I’m afraid you’ve
left it too late
to change your ticket.
leave it at that
(=
used to say that you will not do any more of something, because you have done enough
)
Let’s leave it at that for today.
10
let somebody decide/be responsible
[
transitive
]
RESPONSIBLE
to let someone else decide something or be responsible for something
leave something to somebody
Leave it to
me. I’ll make sure it gets posted.
The choice of specialist subject is left entirely to the students.
leave it (up) to somebody to do something
I’ll leave it up to you to decide.
She leaves it to the reader to draw their own conclusions.
leave doing something to somebody
Is it okay if I leave writing the results to you?
leave something with somebody
Leave it with me, I’ll fix it for you.
He’s not the sort to
leave
things
to chance
(=
take no action and just wait to see what happens
)
.
leave somebody with no choice/option
(=
force someone to take a particular action
)
You leave me with no choice but to fire you.
leave somebody to do something
British English
Clive moved to London, leaving Edward to run the Manchester office.
11
husband/wife etc
[
intransitive, transitive
]
to stop living with or having a relationship with your husband, partner etc
Martha was always threatening to leave, but I never believed her.
leave somebody for somebody
Mr Rushworth left his partner of 10 years for a younger woman.
12
when you die
[
transitive
]
a)
to arrange for someone to receive your money, property etc after you die
SYN
bequeath
Aunt Alice died, leaving almost $5 million.
leave somebody something
Hugo left me his mother’s ring.
In his will, he had left all his children a small sum of money.
leave something to somebody/something
Have you thought of
leaving
a gift
to charity
after you die?
b)
leave a wife/children etc
used when someone dies before their wife, children etc
PC Davis leaves a wife and three small children.
►
see
thesaurus
at
give
13
mark
[
transitive
]
to make a mark that remains afterwards
leave a mark/stain/scar etc
The wine had left a permanent mark on the tablecloth.
He staggered to the door,
leaving a trail
of blood.
Make sure that you don’t leave any footprints.
14
not eat/drink
[
transitive
]
EAT
DRINK
if you leave food or drink that you have been given, you do not eat or drink it
‘I’m really hungry now.’ ‘That’s because you left half your lunch.’
He rose from the table,
leaving
his brandy
untouched
.
17
mathematics
[
transitive
]
in a sum , to have a particular amount remaining
Three from seven leaves four.
→
somebody can take it or leave it
, →
be left holding the baby/bag
THESAURUS
to leave a place
leave
Just as I was leaving the house, the phone rang.
We left early to avoid the traffic.
go
especially spoken
to leave somewhere
Come on, boys, it’s time to go.
When does the next bus go?
set off
especially British English
to leave somewhere and begin a journey
The following day we set off for Vienna.
take off
if a plane takes off, it leaves the ground at the beginning of a flight
Our plane took off late because of the fog.
emigrate
to leave your own country in order to live permanently in another country
In 2002, his family emigrated to New Zealand.
depart
formal
to leave – used especially about trains, buses , planes etc
Coaches depart for the airport every 30 minutes.
to leave school/college etc
leave
especially British English
to finish studying at school or college, usually at the age or time when people normally finish
When James left school, he worked for a while with his father.
She found it hard to get a job after leaving university.
graduate
to successfully finish your studies at a college or university, or at an American high school
Kelly graduated from Harvard with a degree in East Asian Studies.
Approximately 80% of Americans graduate from high school.
drop out
to leave school, college, or university before your course of study has finished, because you do not want to continue with it
I failed my first year exams and decided to drop out and get a job.
quit
American English
to leave school without finishing your course of study
He quit school at fourteen to work and help support his family.
leave your job
leave
I left my last job because the salary was so low.
Why don’t you just leave?
quit
to leave your job permanently because you are not happy with it
After enduring months of harassment, Mrs Collins decided to quit her job.
I’ve told them I’m quitting.
resign
to officially announce that you have decided to leave your job
The company director was forced to resign over the scandal.
hand in your notice/resignation
to write an official letter to your employer saying that you are going to leave your job on a particular date
You have to hand in your notice at least four weeks before you leave.
retire
to leave your job in order to stop working permanently, usually because you have reached the age when most people stop working
After forty years of working for the bank, Karl retired in May.
He had to retire because of ill health.
