leer
1 Americanverb (used without object)
noun
adjective
-
having no burden or load.
-
faint for lack of food; hungry.
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of leer1
First recorded in 1520–30; perhaps verb use of obsolete noun leer “cheek” ( Middle English leor, Old English hlēor; cognate with Old Norse hlȳr (plural))
Origin of leer2
before 1050; Middle English lere, Old English gelǣr; cognate with German leer empty
Explanation
A leer is an unpleasant facial expression. A leer means the person doesn't like you, or even worse, does — in a creepy way. Leer can also be used as a verb, meaning "to look at someone with a suggestive, rude, or contemptuous expression." Your sworn enemy might leer at you whenever you enter a room to express scorn and superiority. Leer derives from the Old English word hleor, meaning "the face or the cheek."
Vocabulary lists containing leer
Where the Red Fern Grows
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Where the Mountain Meets the Moon
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Warriors Don't Cry
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In the same poll, middle-income adults who reported that they had less take-home pay spiked to 11.2%, crossing the threshold likely to trigger recessionary conditions, Leer said.
From MarketWatch • Jan. 8, 2026
Born in 1952, the 72-year-old was the 27th son of the chief of Ayod and Leer and was brought up in the Presbyterian Church.
From BBC • Sep. 16, 2025
“There was a period of time, briefly, where the middle-income consumer looked like they were being dragged up by all that was going well in the world,” said John Leer, chief economist at Morning Consult.
From The Wall Street Journal • Aug. 31, 2025
But the style we chose for "Para Leer al Pato Donald" was as insolent, raucous and carnivalesque as the Chilean revolution itself.
From Salon • Dec. 9, 2023
He goes off with Haie and Leer so that they won’t find him in the first flush of excitement.
From "All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel" by Erich Maria Remarque
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
