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• l
  l

  abbreviation

  large.
• L
  L

  noun

  the 12th letter of the English alphabet, a consonant.
• l-
  l-

  (of a molecule) having a configuration resembling the levorotatory isomer of glyceraldehyde: printed as a small capital, roman character (distinguished from D-).
• L-
  L-

  abbreviation

  levo-.
• l.
  l.

  abbreviation

  large.
• L.
  L.

  abbreviation

  book.

l

¹ American  

abbreviation

1. large.

2. liter; liters.

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L ² American  

[el] / ɛl /

Or l

noun

• L's,
  plural
• Ls,
  plural
• l's,
  plural
• ls
  plural

1. the 12th letter of the English alphabet, a consonant.

2. any spoken sound represented by the letter L or l, as in let, dull, cradle.

3. something having the shape of an L .

4. a written or printed representation of the letter L or l.

5. a device, as a printer's type, for reproducing the letter L or l.

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L ³ American  

[el] / ɛl /

noun

Informal.

• L's,
  plural
• Ls
  plural

1. an elevated railroad.

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L ⁴ American  

[el] / ɛl /

noun

• L's,
  plural
• Ls
  plural

1. ell.

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L ⁵ American  

abbreviation

1. British. pound; pounds.

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L ⁶ American  

abbreviation

1. Optics. lambert; lamberts.

2. language.

3. large.

4. Latin.

5. left.

6. length.

7. long: denoting a size longer than regular, especially for suits and coats made for tall men.

   40L.

8. longitude.

9. Theater. stage left.

10. Economics. a broad measure of total U.S. liquid assets, issued periodically by the Federal Reserve Board.

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L ⁷ American  

Symbol.

1. the 12th in order or in a series.

2. (sometimes lowercase) the Roman numeral for 50.

3. Electricity. inductance.

4. Physics. kinetic potential.

5. Biochemistry. leucine.

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l- ⁸ American  

Symbol, Biochemistry.

1. (of a molecule) having a configuration resembling the levorotatory isomer of glyceraldehyde: printed as a small capital, roman character (distinguished from D-).

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l- ⁹ American  

Symbol, Optics, Chemistry, Biochemistry.

1. levorotatory; levo- (distinguished from d-).

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L- ¹⁰ American  

abbreviation

1. Chemistry. levo-.

2. U.S. Military. (in designations of light aircraft) liaison.

   L-15.

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l. ¹¹ American  

abbreviation

• ll.
  plural

1. large.

2. latitude.

3. law.

4. leaf.

5. league.

6. left.

7. length.

8. line.

9. link.

10. (in Italy) lira; lire.

11. liter; liters.

12. long.

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L. ¹² American  

abbreviation

1. book.

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L. ¹³ American  

abbreviation

1. place.

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L. ¹⁴ American  

abbreviation

1. Lady.

2. Lake.

3. large.

4. Latin.

5. latitude.

6. law.

7. left.

8. lempira; lempiras.

9. leu; lei.

10. lev; leva.

11. Liberal.

12. (in Italy) lira; lire.

13. Lord.

14. Low.

15. lumen.

16. Theater. stage left.

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L. ¹ British  

abbreviation

1. lake

2. left

3. length

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l ² British  

symbol

1. litre

2. physics lepton number

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L ³ British  

symbol

1. ell (unit)

2. lambert(s)

3. large

4. Latin

5. (on British motor vehicles) learner driver

6. physics length

7. live

8. currency

   1. Usually written: £.  pound

   2. lempira

   3. lek

   4. leu

   5. lire

9. aeronautics lift

10. electronics inductor (in circuit diagrams)

11. physics latent heat

12. physics self-inductance

13. chem the Avogadro constant

14. 50 See Roman numerals

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abbreviation

1. Luxembourg (international car registration)

l ⁴ British  

/ ɛl /

noun

1. the 12th letter and ninth consonant of the modern English alphabet

2. a speech sound represented by this letter, usually a lateral, as in label

3. 1. something shaped like an L

   2. ( in combination )

      an L-shaped room

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l Scientific  

1. Abbreviation of length, liter

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• L's
  plural
• Ls
  plural
• l's
  plural
• ls
  plural

Etymology

Origin of L⁵

From the Latin word lībra

Origin of L.¹²

From the Latin word liber

Origin of L.¹³

From the Latin word locus

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

l L L- l. L. L's Ls l's ls

After endless reports of government deals, shortages, and capacity additions, investors can get back to some fundamento l data on Thursday afternoon.

From Barron's ● Feb. 26, 2026

“I felt as if l was this huge disappointment to both of them,” she told Vogue.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 3, 2025

But I’m not good at writing, like, “I’m evil and I’m going to wake up and do evil today.” l don’t understand that psychology.

From Salon ● Dec. 28, 2024

“He was playing softball, l think, and he was wearing a cap,” Heritage says.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 19, 2024

They are pretty words that sound like bells, but l can’t spell them.

From "Julie of the Wolves" by Jean Craighead George

It has been owned by private-equity firm L Catterton since 2023.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026

Looking to avoid an embarrassing L, the committee postponed the Blanche vote, which had been scheduled for Thursday.

From Slate ● Jul. 30, 2026

One domain reads “wiidcatcontractors.com”—with the third letter in the email address a capital I, visually identical to a lowercase L in some fonts.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026

“The upgrade from the K Series to the L Series has been dramatic,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 6, 2026

“It’s a trill, you know, like a trill on the flute, except the first L is lowercase and the second is uppercase!”

From "It’s Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini

Bacterial cell walls contain peptidoglycan, composed of polysaccharide chains that are cross-linked by unusual peptides containing both L- and D-amino acids including D-glutamic acid and D-alanine.

From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022

L- shaped kitchen: One model unit — 308 — is 755 square feet, with one bedroom and one bathroom.

From Washington Post ● Nov. 25, 2019

Mr. L-, who is very handsome and gentlemanly, eats ham and patronises a good breed of pigs on the ‘model farm’ on which he spends his money. 

From Letters from the Cape by Lady Lucie Duff Gordon

Monsieur Dessein came back to let us out of the chaise, and acquaint the lady, the count de L-, her brother, was just arrived at the hotel. 

From A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy by Laurence Sterne

After the experiments, L- said the fault might be ten miles ahead: by that time, we should be according to a chart in about a thousand fathoms of water - rather more than a mile.

From Memoir of Fleeming Jenkin by Robert Louis Stevenson

Hay gold-plated Phi scissors, 9" l.; $40. nest.co.uk, 011-44-1225-461-409 Paola C. Tulip carafe by Aldo Cibic, 8" w. x 5" d. x 9.5" h.;

From Architectural Digest ● Dec. 1, 2014

Marcum also has his eye on the integration of YouTube and Google+, which he believes “will change things.” l. to r.

From Forbes ● Nov. 13, 2013

Surprisingly, he also cited SlideShare as “one of the biggest opportunities for B-to-B marketers.” l. to r.

From Forbes ● Nov. 13, 2013

What she was, must be uncertain; but who she was, might be found out; and setting aside the 10,000 l., it did not appear that she was at all Harriet’s superior.

From "Emma" by Jane Austen

Even as juveniles the paravertebral row is not darkly pigmented in C. l. dunni as it is in C. pulcher.

From A Revision of Snakes of the Genus Conophis (Family Colubridae, from Middle America) by John Wellman

Billionaires like New York Knicks owner James L. Dolan reportedly use spying tech to harass people who criticize them.

From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026

Shasta County Superior Court Judge Benjamin L. Hanna on Friday issued a preliminary injunction that temporarily blocks Measure B, a citizens’ initiative approved by 56% of voters in the June primary.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

“I agree with what Washington is saying that allies need to do more,” said Capt. Ryan L. Bakabak, of the Philippines Navy, sitting aboard the country’s new guided-missile frigate.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026

The doctrine at the center of all this has a name: the Purcell principle, a term coined by Slate contributor Richard L. Hasen after a 2006 case, Purcell v.

From Slate ● Jul. 30, 2026

His family raised money to hire the only black criminal lawyers in the region, J. L. Chestnut and Bruce Boynton from Selma.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson

There are two L’s in Collin and there are also two W’s — as in major championship victories at the 2020 PGA Championship and 2021 British Open.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 8, 2025

But the hits — and the L’s — were relentless on the Main Line.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 26, 2023

Baby L's twin brother, Baby M, suffered an unexpected life-threatening event at about 16:00 BST on 9 April 2016 - the same time that his twin's blood sugar levels were dangerously low.

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2023

The sixth version had a notation that it contained “Dr. L’s edits,” according to Politico.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 29, 2023

“I think Don Old Dock is a little too obvious,” Oliver said as he looked over Jimmy L’s shoulder.

From "The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street" by Karina Yan Glaser

Beware the three Ls: leverage, liquidity and lunacy.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 7, 2025

Or: Why are we spelling “argyle” with two Ls?

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 2, 2024

And none accumulated more Ls in 2021 than Corbin did, with 16.

From Washington Times ● Mar. 28, 2023

“Our schedule gets no easier, so we have to get better quickly. If we don’t, the Ls are going to start piling up.”

From Washington Post ● Sep. 25, 2022

Eventually I grabbed the fat Baltimore phone book, opened to the Ls, and ran my finger down a long line of names: Annette Lacks .

From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot

Linkedln: If you try to post a profile here, clearly you didn’t check your I’s and l’s to watch for phishing sites, so you don’t deserve a cybersecurity job anyway.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 27, 2022

Curving columns of lower-case l’s make the sides of the face.

From New York Times ● Mar. 3, 2020

My 2-year-old daughter Claudia cannot articulate r’s or l’s properly and falls asleep sucking on the ear of a putrid stuffed sheep.

From Slate ● Nov. 18, 2015

Or ‘you are sooo ugly’ — but with 10 u’s, 10 g’s, 10 l’s, like they’re all screaming it at someone.”

From New York Times ● Dec. 5, 2010

Tomorrow's mission: transfer Rover l's battery to Rover 2.

From "The Martian" by Andy Weir

A call for the British Museum to return Chinese artefacts after the recent theft of about 2,000 items ls heating up social media in the country.

From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2023

In Spanish, double ls are pronounced like y.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 3, 2023

Simpson, wearing a Bills wool hat, recalled how the Bills went 1-17 against Miami during his career in Buffalo, spanning 1969-77, before adding, "My Bi ls are going to kick their butts today."

From Fox News ● Oct. 31, 2021

It ls already too late to save this year’s pantos, which many theaters rely on for essential income.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 30, 2020

If    your working directory is empty, ls produces no output, because there are    no files to list.            cd /    cd means ``change directory.''

From Debian GNU/Linux : Guide to Installation and Usage by John Goerzen