leave

leave¹ W1S1 [li:v] v past tense and past participle left [left]

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1¦(go away)¦

2¦(stop)¦

3 leave somebody/something alone

4¦(let something/somebody stay)¦

5¦(not change/move something)¦

6¦(result of accident/illness/event)¦

7 be left

8¦(letter/message/thing)¦

9¦(delay)¦

10¦(let somebody decide/be responsible)¦

11¦(husband/wife etc)¦

12¦(when you die)¦

13¦(mark)¦

14¦(not eat/drink)¦

15 leave somebody/something standing

16 leave a lot/something/much to be desired

17¦(mathematics)¦

18 leave something aside/to one side

19 leave somebody/something be

20 leave go/hold of something

21 leave it to somebody (to do something)

Phrasal verbs

　leave somebody/something<=>behind

　leave off

　leave somebody/something<=>out

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[: Old English; Origin: lAfan]

1.) ¦(GO AWAY)¦ [I and T]

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 (sth/sb) soon/now/later etc

▪ If he left immediately, he'd catch the 7.30 train.

leave (sth/sb) to do sth

▪ Frances left work early to meet her mother.

leave sb doing sth

▪ Never leave children playing near water unattended.

leave sb to sth

▪ 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 sb 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)¦ [I and T]

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 (sb/sth) to do sth

▪ Laura left her native England to live in France.

3.) leave sb/sth alone

a) to stop annoying or upsetting someone

▪ Oh, just leave me alone, will you?

▪ Leave the boy alone, he can make up his own mind.

b) to go away from someone so that they are on their own

▪ Six-year-old Gemma had been left alone in the house.

c) to stop touching something

▪ Leave that alone. You'll break it.

d) also leave well (enough) alone

to stop being involved in or trying to change a situation

▪ Why can't they just leave well alone and let us concentrate on teaching?

4.) ¦(LET SOMETHING/SOMEBODY STAY)¦ [T always + adverb/preposition]

to make or allow something or someone to stay in a place when you go away

leave sth/sb 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 sb to do sth

▪ 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 sb for dead

▪ The girl had been attacked and left for dead.

5.) ¦(NOT CHANGE/MOVE SOMETHING)¦ [T]

to let something remain in a particular state, position, or condition

leave sth on/off/out etc

▪ You've left your lights on.

▪ She must have left the phone off the hook.

leave sth 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 sth doing sth

▪ I'll just leave the engine running while I go in.

▪ Don't leave tools lying about .

leave sth to do sth

▪ Leave the pots to soak overnight.

6.) ¦(RESULT OF ACCIDENT/ILLNESS/EVENT)¦ [T]

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 sb with sth

▪ Although the infection cleared up, he was left with a persistent cough.

leave sb doing sth

▪ The incident left her feeling confused and hurt.

▪ The announcement has left shareholders nursing huge losses.

7.) be left also have sth left

if something is left, it remains after everything else has gone, been taken away, or used

▪ I've only got a few dollars left.

▪ There were a couple of seats left at the back.

▪ We don't have much time left.

▪ He pointed to what was left of the house (=used when very little is left) .

▪ All that was left was a pile of bones.

be left over

▪ After we've paid the bills, there's never much left over.

▪ They ate some bread rolls left over from the night before.

8.) ¦(LETTER/MESSAGE/THING)¦ [T]

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 sb sth

▪ Can you leave me some money for the bus?

leave sth with sb

▪ Ian left this note with me.

leave sth for sb

▪ A guy left these flowers for you.

9.) ¦(DELAY)¦ [T]

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 sth 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)¦ [T]

to let someone else decide something or be responsible for something

leave sth to sb

▪ 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 sb to do sth

▪ I'll leave it up to you to decide.

▪ She leaves it to the reader to draw their own conclusions.

leave doing sth to sb

▪ Is it okay if I leave writing the results to you?

leave sth with sb

▪ 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 sb with no choice/option

(=force someone to take a particular action)

▪ You leave me with no choice but to fire you.

leave sb to do sth BrE

▪ Clive moved to London, leaving Edward to run the Manchester office.

11.) ¦(HUSBAND/WIFE ETC)¦ [I and T]

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 sb for sb

▪ Mr Rushworth left his partner of 10 years for a younger woman.

12.) ¦(WHEN YOU DIE)¦ [T]

a) to arrange for someone to receive your money, property, etc after you die

= ↑bequeath

▪ Aunt Alice died, leaving almost $5 million.

leave sb sth

▪ Hugo left me his mother's ring.

▪ In his will, he had left all his children a small sum of money.

leave sth to sb/sth

▪ 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.

13.) ¦(MARK)¦ [T]

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)¦ [T]

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 .

15.) leave sb/sth standing also leave sb/sth in the dust AmE

informal to be much better, quicker, more successful etc than someone or something else

▪ In terms of fitness, he discovered that Kate left him standing.

16.) leave a lot/sth/much to be desired

to be very unsatisfactory

▪ Inspectors say health and safety procedures at the factory leave a lot to be desired.

17.) ¦(MATHEMATICS)¦ [T]

in a sum, to have a particular amount remaining

▪ Three from seven leaves four.

18.) leave sth aside/to one side

to not think about or consider one part of something for a time, so that you can consider another part of it

▪ Leaving aside for a moment the question of expense, what would your view be of the suggested changes?

19.) leave sb/sth be

old-fashioned to not upset, speak to, or annoy someone or to not touch something

20.) leave go/hold of sth

BrE spoken informal to stop holding something

21.) leave it to sb (to do sth)

AmE spoken informal used to say that no one should be surprised that someone does something, because it is typical or expected of them

▪ Leave it to you to have the whole day planned out!

→sb can take it or leave it at ↑take¹ (21)

→be left holding the baby/bag at ↑hold¹ (26)

leave behind [leave sb/sth<=>behind] phr v

1.) to not take someone or something with you when you leave a place

▪ I think I might have left my wallet behind.

▪ He departed for Washington, leaving the children behind with their mother.

2.) if a person, country, or organization is left behind, they do not develop as quickly or make as much progress as other people, countries etc

▪ In class, a child with poor eyesight can soon get left behind.

▪ a fear of being left behind by better-organized rivals

3.) also leave sb/sth behind you

to permanently stop being involved with a place, person, or situation

▪ It's time to leave the past behind .

▪ Although Armstrong overcame the circumstances of his birth, he never really left New Orleans behind.

4.) also leave sb/sth behind you

to move away from someone or something

▪ They had left the city behind and were heading into open country.

▪ Sarah, with her long legs, soon left the rest of us far behind .

5.) also leave sth behind you

to produce a thing or situation that remains after you have gone

▪ He drove off, leaving behind him a trail of blue smoke.

▪ the mess the previous government left behind

leave off phr v

1.) to stop doing something

take up/pick up/continue (sth) etc where sb left off

(=continue something that has stopped for a short time)

▪ Barry took up the story where Justine had left off.

leave off doing sth

BrE informal

▪ 'Will you leave off nagging?' he snarled.

2.) leave sb/sth off (sth)

to not include something such as someone's name in a list or other document

▪ Why was her name left off the list?

leave out [leave sb/sth<=>out] phr v

1.) to not include someone or something

▪ She outlined the case to him, being careful not to leave anything out.

leave sb/sth out of sth

▪ Kidd has been left out of the team.

2.) be/feel left out

to feel that you are not accepted or welcome in a situation

▪ New fathers often feel left out when baby arrives.

3.) leave it out!

BrE spoken used to tell someone to stop lying, pretending, or being annoying

leave ²

leave² W2S3 n

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1¦(holiday)¦

2 maternity/sick/compassionate leave

3 leave of absence

4¦(permission)¦

5 without so much as a by your leave

6 take leave of your senses

7 take leave of somebody/take your leave

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[: Old English; Origin: lAf]

1.) ¦(HOLIDAY)¦[U]

time that you are allowed to spend away from your work, especially in the armed forces

▪ I've applied for three days' leave.

on leave

▪ navy officers home on leave

▪ Your basic annual leave is 20 days.

2.) maternity/sick/compassionate leave

time that you are allowed to spend away from work because you have had a baby, because you are ill, or because of a personal problem such as the death of a relative

3.) leave of absence

a period of time that you are allowed to spend away from work for a particular purpose

▪ She's been given leave of absence to attend a computer course.

4.) ¦(PERMISSION)¦[U] formal

permission to do something

▪ All this was done entirely without my leave.

leave to do sth

▪ a petition for leave to appeal to the European court

grant/obtain/ask/seek etc leave (to do sth)

▪ He asked leave to speak to her in private.

5.) without so much as a by your leave

old-fashioned without asking permission, in a way that seems very rude

▪ He marched into my office without so much as a by your leave.

6.) take leave of your senses

to suddenly start behaving in a strange way

▪ You want to marry him? Have you taken leave of your senses?

7.) take leave of sb/take your leave

formal to say goodbye to someone