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  • l
    l
    abbreviation
  • 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.


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.


L 3 American  
[el] / ɛl /

noun

Informal.
  • L's,
    plural
  • Ls
    plural
  1. an elevated railroad.


L 4 American  
[el] / ɛl /

noun

  • L's,
    plural
  • Ls
    plural
  1. ell.


L 5 American  

abbreviation

  1. British. pound; pounds.


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.


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.


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-).


l- 9 American  
Symbol, Optics, Chemistry, Biochemistry.
  1. levorotatory; levo- (distinguished from d-).


L- 10 American  

abbreviation

  1. Chemistry. levo-.

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

    L-15.


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.


L. 12 American  

abbreviation

  1. book.


L. 13 American  

abbreviation

  1. place.


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.


L. 1 British  

abbreviation

  1. lake

  2. left

  3. length

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

l 2 British  

symbol

  1. litre

  2. physics lepton number

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

l 3 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

    1. something shaped like an L

    2. ( in combination )

      an L-shaped room

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

L 4 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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

abbreviation

  1. Luxembourg (international car registration)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
l Scientific  
  1. Abbreviation of length, liter


Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

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

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

“The best gift that I got was from Taylor, but it gives away things that we’re trying to keep in house, so not going to say it, and l love you Tay,” he said.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 7, 2026

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

Guess what l plan to do while Dad’s out???

From "The Old Willis Place" by Mary Downing Hahn

He is the first director to take consecutive Oscars since Joseph L.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2026

Greenwich, Conn.-based L Catterton sees Hyrox as “uniquely well positioned” in creating a global movement centering on fitness, said managing director Shena Willis.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026

Kirsty L Jones, leader of the Nottingham People's Alliance, however, said it may have come as a result of "under-delivery of services in the first place".

From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026

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

From Slate ● Jul. 30, 2026

For patsching or snapping, if there is no R or L indicated, both hands play simultaneously.

From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin

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

At last the guard returned; once more I was stowed away in the coach, my protector mounted his own seat, sounded his hollow horn, and away we rattled over the “stony street” of L-.

From Jane Eyre by F. H. Townsend

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

Moi, qui vous parle, L- G-ll--nn-, Have told them so; I ought to know!

From The Battle of the Bays by Sir Owen Seaman

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

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

From Forbes ● Nov. 13, 2013

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

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

The longest specimen, a male of C. l. concolor, has a body length of 893 mm., a tail length of 274 mm., and a total length of 1167 mm.

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

Friends of Slate Richard L. Revesz and Sarah Wheaton explain in Slate how a proposed regulation attempts to stop collecting race and ethnicity data, which could have wide-ranging implications for public health.

From Slate ● Sep. 24, 2026

District Judge Orlando L. Garcia of the Western District of Texas, has scheduled a hearing for Sept. 30.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026

The researchers combined genetic evidence with physical traits, including differences in scale counts, to distinguish L. slashi from related snakes.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 2026

It has also received more than $17 million from venture capitalist L. John Doerr, $12 million from Ripple Labs founder Chris Larsen and $3 million from philanthropist and former Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026

The only Civil War uniform I’d ever seen up dose was on Mrs. L. J. Weidenbach s daddy.

From "A Long Way from Chicago" by Richard Peck

The Trojans erased one of those potential L’s in their season-opening win over Louisana State in Las Vegas.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2024

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

“We were sitting at Coach L’s house and I can remember everyone just jumping up and down, cheering. It was a great feeling.”

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 30, 2023

Jimmy L’s voice was muffled by his scarf.

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

Beware the three Ls: leverage, liquidity and lunacy.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 7, 2025

He said the committee also did not ignore lopsided losses: Two of Kansas’ seven Ls came in March to Texas, a No. 2 seed, by 16 and 20 points.

From Washington Times ● Mar. 12, 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

She now had a new home, a new language and a slightly new name — “Gabriella” with two Ls after officials misspelled it on immigration paperwork.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2022

Augustus and Isaac were sitting on the floor in gaming chairs shaped like lazy Ls, staring up at a gargantuan television.

From "The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green

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

This gives you a file to play with when using gzip.            $ ls -l    Lists the contents of the current directory.

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

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