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• left wing
  left wing

  noun

  members of a liberal or radical political party, or those favoring extensive political reform.
• left-wing
  left-wing

  A descriptive term for liberal, radical, or revolutionary political views, particularly the view that there are unacceptable social inequalities in the present order of society. Communists and socialists, as well as moderate liberals, come under the term left-wing. Left-wing groups are sometimes known collectively as the Left. (Compare right-wing.)

left wing

American  

noun

• left wings
  plural

1. members of a liberal or radical political party, or those favoring extensive political reform.

2. such a party or a group of such parties.

3. the part of a political or social organization advocating a liberal or radical position.

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left wing British  

noun

1. (often capital) the leftist faction of an assembly, party, group, etc; the radical or progressive wing

2. the units of an army situated on the left of a battle position

3. sport

   1. the left-hand side of the field of play from the point of view of either team facing its opponents' goal

   2. a player positioned in this area in certain games

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adjective

1. of, belonging to, or relating to the political left wing

left-wing ¹ Cultural  

1. A descriptive term for liberal, radical, or revolutionary political views, particularly the view that there are unacceptable social inequalities in the present order of society. Communists and socialists, as well as moderate liberals, come under the term left-wing. Left-wing groups are sometimes known collectively as the Left. (Compare right-wing.)

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left-wing ² Cultural  

1. A descriptive term for an individual or a political faction that advocates liberal, radical, or even revolutionary policies, usually in favor of overcoming social inequalities. In the United States, left-wing groups generally support federal social welfare programs designed to open opportunities to all citizens. (Compare right-wing.)

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left wing Idioms  

1. The liberal or radical faction of a political group, as in Many consider him a leader of the Democratic Party's left wing. This expression originated in the seating practice of European legislatures, whereby those holding liberal views were assigned to the left side of the house. [First half of 1800s]

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Discover More

Although both major political parties in the United States have left-wing factions, left-wing policies are usually associated with the Democratic party.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• left-winger
  noun
• left-wing
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• left wings
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of left wing

First recorded in 1700–10

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Compare meaning

How does left-wing compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• left wing vs. right wing

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

left wing left-wing

However, De Goede restored her side's lead three minutes later and completed her hat-trick just after the hour-mark before Savannah Bauder danced down the left wing to put Canada out of sight.

From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2026

Leaping high, six yards out, to nod in Tommy Conway's cross from the left wing, Will Lankshear notched his ninth goal in 12 games for Middlesbrough.

From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026

Winger Christos Tzolis, who has shone at times this season following his summer arrival, suffered a hamstring issue with Greece and, with Eberechi Eze out of form, Arteta used Noni Madueke on the left wing.

From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026

Delta Air Lines Flight 7 was taxiing for departure when its left wing clipped Air Canada Flight 785’s horizontal stabilizer at around 10:30 a.m.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

The big summer kitchen is out behind the left wing of the house, and I can already imagine the crisp fried deliciousness of Cook’s pork chops, my stomach giving its own noisy approval.

From "Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland

The other Arab party, the Joint List, is an alliance of left-wing, communist, and secular Palestinian-nationalist movements.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026

Lula is a longtime labor activist and co-founder of the left-wing Workers’ Party, who ran losing campaigns for president three times before being elected in 2002 and reelected in 2006.

From Salon ● Oct. 27, 2026

The incumbent, veteran left-wing leader Luíz Inácio Lula da Silva, will be challenged by 11 candidates, the most prominent of whom is right-winger Flávio Bolsonaro.

From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026

The 32-year-old was one of the closest advisers of Gustavo Petro, Colombia's first left-wing president, who governed from 2022 to August this year.

From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026

In the Soviet Union in the 1930s, left-wing scientists and intellectuals proposed that nothing about heredity was inherent at all.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

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Related Words

• leftist
• liberal

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