leave
verb /liːv/
/liːv/
Verb Forms
Idioms Phrasal Verbs| present simple I / you / we / they leave | /liːv/ /liːv/ |
| he / she / it leaves | /liːvz/ /liːvz/ |
| past simple left | /left/ /left/ |
| past participle left | /left/ /left/ |
| -ing form leaving | /ˈliːvɪŋ/ /ˈliːvɪŋ/ |
- [intransitive, transitive] to go away from a person or a place
- Come on, it's time we left (= time for us to leave).
- She left without saying goodbye.
- leave for something The plane leaves for Dallas at 12.35.
- What time do you have to leave for work?
- leave something The plane leaves Heathrow at 12.35.
- I hate leaving home.
- She left the house around 8 this morning.
- The whole family was forced to leave the country.
Extra Examples- You want Chris? Sorry, he's just left.
- Did you want something? I was just about to leave.
- You're not welcome here. You should leave.
- I wanted to leave but they wouldn't let me.
- The bus leaves at 8.30.
- The train was just leaving the station.
- I heard his car leaving the driveway.
- They left for Scotland this morning.
- By the time I got there, they'd already left for home.
- You should have left for school by now.
- I never leave the house without my phone.
- He left home around 8 this morning.
- They started talking about her as soon as she left the room.
- They keep a record of everyone entering and leaving the premises.
- I'm sorry, he's already left the office.
- She was injured and left the field.
- They were being extremely rowdy and the manager had to ask them to leave.
- They were caught trying to leave the country.
- We were all packed and ready to leave.
- Are you ready to leave yet?
- If we leave now, we should make it in time.
- John says he left the restaurant at around midnight.
- She refused to leave until she had talked to an officer.
- It looked as though they had left in a hurry.
- They got into an argument and were asked to leave.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverb + leave- decide to
- intend to
- plan to
- …
- for
- [intransitive, transitive] to stop living at a place, belonging to a group, working for an employer, etc.
- My assistant is threatening to leave.
- leave something He didn't leave home until he was 30.
- (British English) She left school at 16.
- (North American English) I went to see him, but was told he had left town.
- The Mayor left office in 2018.
- Why did you leave your last job?
- leave for something People leave for better-paid jobs elsewhere.
- leave something for something Many of her relatives had left Ireland for America.
Extra Examples- He had left the organization some years before.
- I decided to leave the company and go freelance.
- I worked in Hong Kong after I left university.
- Her youngest child has just left college.
- US troops left the island in December 1983.
- His family had to leave the village.
- She claims she was forced to leave her job after she became pregnant.
- She left school at 14 with no qualifications.
- They left for a new life abroad.
- Too many teachers are leaving the profession for higher-paid jobs.
- Hundreds of villagers have already left to seek work in the towns.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverb + leave- decide to
- intend to
- plan to
- …
- for
- [intransitive, transitive] to leave your wife, husband or partner permanently
- I was afraid you'd leave if you knew the truth.
- leave somebody I'll never leave you.
- leave somebody for somebody She left him for a colleague.
Extra ExamplesTopics Family and relationshipsa1- He's been depressed since his wife left.
- His father left his mother when he was just two years old.
- His girlfriend was threatening to leave him.
- I'm sorry, George, I'm leaving you.
- He promised he would leave his wife for her.
- My fiance left me for someone else.
- She's leaving him for another man.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverb + leave- decide to
- intend to
- plan to
- …
- for
- [transitive] to go away from a place without taking something/somebody with you
- leave something/somebody I'll have to go back—I've left my jacket.
- They left the children and went out for the evening.
- leave something/somebody + adv./prep. I've left my bag on the bus.
- You can leave your things here.
- leave something/somebody behind He wasn't well, so we had to leave him behind.
- Don't leave any of your belongings behind.
Extra Examples- Is there somewhere we can leave our luggage?
- I've left my phone somewhere but I can't remember where.
- Hang on a minute—I left my phone upstairs.
- I stupidly left my passport at home.
- The lost property office is full of belongings people have left on trains.
- You'll have to leave your dog outside.
- She left her little brother in the park and came home by herself.
- What shall we do with the baby? We can't leave him.
- They were charged with neglect after leaving their children to go on holiday.
- He's old enough to be left for the evening.
- [transitive] to make or allow somebody/something to remain in a particular condition, place, etc.
- leave somebody/something + adj. Leave the door open, please.
- The bomb blast left 25 people dead.
- His help left her free to focus on her research.
- leave somebody/something doing something Don't leave her waiting outside in the rain.
- We were left feeling rather disappointed.
- leave somebody/something to do something Leave the rice to cook for 20 minutes.
- leave something He ate up his vegetables but left the chicken.
Extra Examples- The treatment had left her vulnerable to infection.
- He had left his food untouched.
- The experience left them shaken, but unharmed.
- The accident left him unable to walk.
- The writer leaves us free to imagine our own ending to the story.
- We were left in no doubt who was really to blame.
- They were left without power for two days after storms blew down cables.
- The furniture had all been left in place, just as it would have been when he was alive.
- They left me standing there like an idiot while they argued.
- I was left wondering what had really happened.
- Don't leave your stuff lying around.
- Remove the pan from the heat and leave it to cool down.
- I'll leave you to enjoy your book.
- We left them to have some time alone.
- be left[transitive] to remain to be used, sold, etc.
- Is there any coffee left?
- He's spent all the money—there's nothing left.
- You still have a few minutes left.
- How many tickets do you have left?
- be left of something They are fighting to save what is left of their business.
- Not much is left of the old town.
- be left to somebody The only course of action left to me was to notify her employer.
Extra Examples- Are there any cookies left?
- There's no time left. We have to decide now.
- If there's any left, I'll use it to make soup.
- There's no water left in the jug.
- If you have a few minutes left at the end, use them to check your work.
- I've still got a few presents left to buy.
- There are 85 days left until the games begin.
- There's only a year left until I finish university.
- By the time we'd finished, there wasn't a lot left to spend.
- I'm sorry, we haven't got any of the blue ones left.
- As the hurricane blew over, people returned to what was left of their homes.
- He tried to brush what was left of his hair across his scalp.
- The company is trying to salvage what's left of its reputation.
- The only option left to us was to fire her.
- They decided that the only avenue left to them was legal action.
- [transitive] to make something happen or remain as a result
- leave something Red wine leaves a stain.
- The Romans left their mark on Britain.
- Leave room on the spreadsheet to add the results later.
- They've left a space here where you can put your name.
- leave somebody with something She left me with the impression that she was unhappy.
- leave somebody something I'm afraid you leave me no choice.
Extra Examples- The storm left a trail of destruction.
- First experiences leave lasting impressions.
- The incident left its mark on all of us.
- He disappeared without leaving a trace.
- This doesn't leave much room for error.
- The film leaves you with the desire to find out more.
- I was left with the feeling that I'd done something wrong.
- You haven't left me much room for manoeuvre.
- I've left you some space on the shelf for your books.
- We try to leave people a positive impression.
- She left them no option but to fire her.
- [transitive] to deliver, write or record something to be seen or heard later
- leave something Lots of people had left comments under the post.
- Someone called, but they didn't leave a message.
- leave something for somebody Someone left this note for you.
- leave somebody something Someone left you this note.
Extra Examples- Leave a message and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.
- She disappeared without leaving a note.
- Please leave a comment on the blog.
- I left a message on his Facebook page.
- He left a sign on the door saying 'Gone fishing'.
- She had left a little note inside the package.
- Somebody left you some flowers.
- Perhaps this mess was their way of leaving us a message.
- I left myself a note to get more coffee.
- She leaves herself little reminders all over the house.
More Like This Verbs with two objectsVerbs with two objects- bet
- bring
- build
- buy
- cost
- get
- give
- leave
- lend
- make
- offer
- owe
- pass
- pay
- play
- post
- promise
- read
- refuse
- sell
- send
- show
- sing
- take
- teach
- tell
- throw
- wish
- write
- [transitive] to not do something or deal with something immediately
- leave something Leave the dishes—I'll do them later.
- leave something until/till something Why do you always leave everything until the last moment?
- leave something for something Let's leave that topic for another day.
Extra Examples- I'm going to leave this now and finish it tomorrow morning.
- If you find a question difficult, leave it and come back to it.
- Leave it! It's not worth bothering with!
- We all know we shouldn't leave essays until the night before they're due.
- I left the best till last.
- OK, let's leave the discussion there for now.
- He decided to leave the washing-up for later.
- We can leave that issue for next week.
- [transitive] to allow somebody to take care of something
- leave something to somebody/something You can leave the cooking to me.
- They didn't leave anything to chance (= everything was planned carefully).
- leave it (up) to somebody (to do something) ‘Where shall we eat?’ ‘I’ll leave it entirely (up) to you (= you can decide).’
- I leave it to you to decide what order to do things in.
- leave somebody + adv./prep. She left her assistant in charge.
- leave something with somebody Leave it with me—I'm sure I can sort it out.
- leave somebody with something They left me with all the clearing up.
- leave somebody/something to do something Can I leave you to lock up the shop?
- I was left to cope on my own.
Extra Examples- He leaves most of the important decisions to his wife.
- Stop analysing everybody! Leave that to the psychologists!
- If you leave it with me, I'll get back to you within a day or two.
- I left the problem with Gina to sort out.
- He has fun baking with the kids and I'm left with all the mess to clean up.
- I left him with the boxes to pack.
- I'll leave you to finish this when you have time.
- We left them to keep an eye on the house while we were away.
- [transitive] to give something to somebody when you die synonym bequeath
- leave something He left a large estate.
- leave something to somebody She left £1 million to her daughter.
- leave somebody something She left her daughter £1 million.
Extra Examples- He left over ten million dollars when he died.
- She left everything to charity.
- Her father's will left everything to her brothers.
- She promised she would leave the house to me.
- Her grandfather left her some stocks and shares.
- She died and left me nothing.
- I'll leave you the ring when I die.
- I'll leave it to you when I die.
- [transitive] leave somebody to have family who continue to live after your death
- He leaves a wife and two children.
- [transitive] leave something to have a particular amount left over
- Seven from ten leaves three.
place/person
home/job/school
partner
somebody/something in place/condition
deliver
something to do later
responsibility to somebody
after death
mathematics
Word Originverb Old English lǣfan ‘bequeath’, also ‘allow to remain, leave in place’ of Germanic origin; related to German bleiben ‘remain’.
Idioms Most idioms containing leave are at the entries for the nouns and adjectives in the idioms, for example leave somebody in the lurch is at lurch.
be left to yourself
- to be alone
- I didn’t know anyone in New York, so I was left to myself to explore.
- to be allowed to do what you want
- Left to himself, the dog will eat anything and everything.
somebody can take it or leave it
- used to say that you do not care if somebody accepts or rejects your offer
- used to say that somebody does not have a strong opinion about something
- Dancing? I can take it or leave it.
leave somebody be
- (informal) to stop annoying somebody or trying to get their attention synonym leave/let somebody alone
- Why can’t you stop texting me and just leave me be?
leave go (of something)
- (British English, informal) to stop holding on to something synonym let go
- Leave go of my arm—you're hurting me!
leave it at that
- (informal) to say or do nothing more about something
- We'll never agree, so let's just leave it at that.
leave it out
- (British English, informal) used to tell somebody to stop doing something