leopard
(lepəʳd )
Word forms: leopards
1. countable noun B2
A leopard is a type of large, wild cat. Leopards have yellow fur and black spots, and live in Africa and Asia.
2. a leopard cannot change its spots phrase [VERB inflects]
If you say that a leopard cannot change its spots, you mean that people or things are not able to change their basic characteristics, especially when you are critical of those characteristics.
This only goes to show how this prejudiced leopard has in no way changed his spots.
Image of leopard
© Eric Isselee, Shutterstock
Idioms:
a leopard does not change its spots [mainly British]
said to mean that it is not possible for someone bad or unpleasant to change and become good and pleasant
As you get older you learn that a leopard never changes its spots. He has always been a vile monster and he always will be.
Easy Learning Idioms Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Translations:
Chinese: 豹
Japanese: ヒョウ 動物
- physiological
- physiological adaptation
- physiological arousal
- physiological effect
- physiological function
- physiologically
- physiological mechanism
- physiologist
- physiology
- physiotherapist
- physiotherapy
- physique
- phytoplankton
- phytoplankton bloom
- phytosanitary
- pi
- pianissimo
- pianist
- piano
- piano accompaniment
- piano ballad
- piano bench
- piano chord
- pianoforte
- piano key