leaf

[leef]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR leaf ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural leaves [leevz] /livz/.

one of the expanded, usually green organs borne by the stem of a plant.

any similar or corresponding lateral outgrowth of a stem.

a petal: a rose leaf.

leaves collectively; foliage.

Bibliography. a unit generally comprising two printed, blank, or illustrated pages of a book, one on each side.

a thin sheet of metal: silver leaf.

a lamina or layer.

a sliding, hinged, or detachable flat part, as of a door or tabletop.

a section of a drawbridge.

a single strip of metal in a leaf spring.

a tooth of a small gear wheel, as of a pinion.

leaf fat.

Textiles. shaft(def 14).

verb (used without object)

to put forth leaves.

to turn pages, especially quickly (usually followed by through): to leaf through a book.

verb (used with object)

to thumb or turn, as the pages of a book or magazine, in a casual or cursory inspection of the contents.

Idioms

in leaf, covered with foliage; having leaves: the pale green tint of the woods newly in leaf.

take a leaf out of/fromsomeone's book, to follow someone's example; imitate: Some countries that took a leaf out of American industry's book are now doing very well for themselves.

turn over a new leaf, to begin anew; make a fresh start: Every New Year's we make resolutions to turn over a new leaf.

Origin of leaf

before 900; Middle English leef, lef, Old English lēaf; cognate with Dutch loof, German Laub, Old Norse lauf, Gothic laufs

Related formsleaf·less, adjectiveleaf·like, adjectiveun·leaf, verb (used with object)un·leaf·like, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for leafless

exposed, nude, bald, raw, bare, helpless, defenseless, barren, natural, open, stripped, threadbare, unconcealed, uncovered, undressed, unprotected, vulnerable, unclad, bared, denuded

Examples from the Web for leafless

Contemporary Examples of leafless

She walked down the bluestone and blacktop driveway and through shadows thrown by the branches of seven leafless oak trees.
Jimmy Breslin on JFK’s Assassination: Two Classic Columns
Jimmy Breslin
November 22, 2013
In the leafless hills of western Connecticut, this is the only Christmas spirit that could possibly matter now.
On the Loss of Innocents
Justin Green
December 16, 2012

Historical Examples of leafless

Let the trees again be leafless; let the rivers flow no longer in their empty beds.
Imogen
William Godwin
At last we reach a tree partly unoccupied, but it is leafless, alas!
Things as They Are
Amy Wilson-Carmichael
Every leafless bough of yonder lofty elder-tree is thick with birds.
The Shadow of a Crime
Hall Caine
The wind blew strongly, and soughed in the stiff and leafless boughs.
A Son of Hagar
Sir Hall Caine
Even yet on the sheltered side there was a monthly rose or two on the leafless bushes.
Mary Gray
Katharine Tynan

British Dictionary definitions for leafless

leaf

noun plural leaves (liːvz)

the main organ of photosynthesis and transpiration in higher plants, usually consisting of a flat green blade attached to the stem directly or by a stalkRelated adjectives: foliar, foliate

foliage collectively

in leaf (of shrubs, trees, etc) having a full complement of foliage leaves

one of the sheets of paper in a book

a hinged, sliding, or detachable part, such as an extension to a table

metal in the form of a very thin flexible sheetgold leaf

a foil or thin strip of metal in a composite material; lamina

short for leaf spring

the inner or outer wall of a cavity wall

a crop that is harvested in the form of leaves

a metal strip forming one of the laminations in a leaf spring

a slang word for marijuana

take a leaf out of someone's book or take a leaf from someone's book to imitate someone, esp in one particular course of action

turn over a new leaf to begin a new and improved course of behaviour

verb

(when intr, usually foll by through) to turn (through pages, sheets, etc) cursorily

(intr) (of plants) to produce leaves

Derived Formsleafless, adjectiveleaflessness, nounleaflike, adjective

Word Origin for leaf

Old English; related to Gothic laufs, Icelandic lauf

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

Word Origin and History for leafless

adj.

1580s, from leaf (n.) + -less.

leaf

"to turn over (the pages of a book)," 1660s, from leaf (n.). The notion of a book page also is in the phrase to turn over a (new) leaf (1570s). Related: Leafed; leaved; leafing.

leaf

Old English leaf "leaf of a plant; page of a book," from Proto-Germanic *laubaz (cf. Old Saxon lof, Old Norse lauf, Old Frisian laf, Dutch loof, Old High German loub, German Laub "foliage, leaves," Gothic lauf), perhaps from PIE *leup- "to peel off, break off" (cf. Lithuanian luobas, Old Church Slavonic lubu "bark, rind"). Extended 15c. to very thin sheets of metal (especially gold). Meaning "hinged flap on the side of a table" is from 1550s.

leafless in Science

leaf

[lēf]

An appendage growing from the stem of a plant. Leaves are extremely variable in form and function according to species. For example, the needles of pine trees, the spines of cacti, and the bright red parts of the poinsettia plant are all leaves modified for different purposes. However, most leaves are flat and green and adapted to capturing sunlight and carbon dioxide for photosynthesis. They consist of an outer tissue layer (the epidermis) through which water and gases are exchanged, a spongy inner layer of cells that contain chloroplasts, and veins that supply water and minerals and carry out food. Some leaves are simple, while others are compound, consisting of multiple leaflets. The flat part of the leaf, the blade, is often attached to the stem by a leafstalk.

Idioms and Phrases with leafless

leaf

In addition to the idiom beginning with leaf

leaf through

also see:

quake in one's boots (like a leaf)
take a leaf out of someone's book
turn over a new leaf