leaflet
Americannoun
-
leaflets
plural
-
a small flat or folded sheet of printed matter, as an advertisement or notice, usually intended for free distribution.
-
one of the separate blades or divisions of a compound leaf.
-
a small leaflike part or structure.
-
a small or young leaf.
verb (used with object)
-
leaflets,
present (3rd person singular)
-
leafletted,
past, past participle, past (especially British)
-
leafleted,
past participle
-
leafleting,
present participle
-
leafletting
present participle (especially British)
verb (used without object)
-
leaflets,
present (3rd person singular)
-
leafletted,
past, past participle, past (especially British)
-
leafleted,
past participle
-
leafleting,
present participle
-
leafletting
present participle (especially British)
noun
-
a printed and usually folded sheet of paper for distribution, usually free and containing advertising material or information about a political party, charity, etc
-
any of the subdivisions of a compound leaf such as a fern leaf
-
(loosely) any small leaf or leaflike part
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
leafletsimple
-
leafletssimple
-
have leafletedperfect
-
have leaflettedperfect
-
has leafletedperfect
-
has leaflettedperfect
-
am leafletingprogressive
-
am leaflettingprogressive
-
are leafletingprogressive
-
are leaflettingprogressive
-
is leafletingprogressive
-
is leaflettingprogressive
-
have been leafletingperfect progressive
-
have been leaflettingperfect progressive
-
has been leafletingperfect progressive
-
has been leaflettingperfect progressive
Past
-
leaflettedsimple
-
had leafletedperfect
-
had leaflettedperfect
-
was leafletingprogressive
-
was leaflettingprogressive
-
were leafletingprogressive
-
were leaflettingprogressive
-
had been leafletingperfect progressive
-
had been leaflettingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of leaflet
Explanation
A paper advertisement or a folded brochure is called a leaflet. To spread the word that your band is playing tonight, you could hand out leaflets. Most leaflets are free, part of their purpose being to attract an audience or customers, or to spread specific information or propaganda. You can also use this word to mean "small section of a leaf," particularly on a "compound leaf," which is made up of several leaflets, like the leaf of the ash tree. This botanical meaning is the original one — the "pamphlet" meaning arose in the 1800s, from leaf, or "page of a book."
Vocabulary lists containing leaflet
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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.
See Examples For:
At the entrance to one registration office, a maternity health leaflet wishes newlyweds “a happy marriage and a speedy pregnancy.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026
It's worth checking the patient information leaflet for the full details.
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026
"You've read the information leaflet," Jannoun told the injured Hearts and Scotland goalkeeper.
From BBC ● Jun. 9, 2026
The imprint was missing from a leaflet containing an open letter by a pensioner who had switched her support from Labour to Reform UK.
From BBC ● Feb. 25, 2026
Additional emergency exits are shown on the leaflet.
From "Look Both Ways" by Jason Reynolds
Customs data from the Maldives shows a paltry amount of exports to Russia between 2022 and 2025—about $2,300 of tuna and $25 in leaflets and brochures.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
"I will be in the city centre to hand out leaflets, answer questions, give directions, be a visible symbol of the volunteers, so people can approach me."
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
He would advertise his services by posting leaflets through front doors across England including in Kent, Essex, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire.
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
A civil protection officer handed out bottles of water and leaflets on how to behave in the extreme heat, standing in front of a 3,000-litre tanker feeding the mister and the crowds around it.
From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026
If Werner will translate the leaflets into French, perhaps Helmuth could smuggle them to the French prisoners.
From "The Boy Who Dared" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
Outraged by the increase, the 65-year-old leafletted all houses on the estate and challenged the bill, eventually negotiating the lower fee for all 120 households.
From BBC ● Dec. 1, 2024
“They shouted obscenities, disparaged Heartbeat’s staff, volunteers, and supporters, and leafletted the venue with propaganda hoping to dissuade women from using Heartbeat’s services,” said the complaint.
From Washington Times ● Mar. 30, 2023
In the past, local pit villages and council estates have been leafleted to advertise the Baltic as a centre for everyone.
From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2025
I have leafleted and phoned with other union members to ensure transit funding.
From Seattle Times ● May 20, 2022
They leafleted neighborhoods, black and white, with fliers meant to both intimidate and recruit.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 5, 2018
The musicians union said its members recently leafleted outside a desert location shoot in Pearblossom, Calif., calling upon the show's production company, Picrow, to recognize musicians' right to a labor contract.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 30, 2016
The IDF has also robo-called and leafleted neighborhoods, warning people to clear out before the area is invaded.
From Slate ● Jul. 31, 2014
This will include members of the chorus leafleting the public outside the Wales Millennium Centre, where the production is taking place.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2024
He and other activists could still be blocked by police in situations where their leafleting activities are seen as risking the safety of South Koreans living in border areas, the court said.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 26, 2023
The event will also be used to kickstart a summer programme of independence campaigning, which the party said would include leafleting, canvassing and regional assemblies.
From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2023
The document includes detailed rundowns of union activities, such as leafleting conducted last year in five cities it says had “known” union-aligned employees, and a “marked increase in flyer distribution” early this year.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 17, 2023
It started leafleting Llantwit Major in February, soon after Vale of Glamorgan Council announced that temporary houses for refugees were going to be built on the site of a closed-down primary school.
From BBC ● Mar. 24, 2023
She hinted that balloons could become the North’s standard response to leafletting moving forward, saying that the North would respond by “scattering rubbish dozens of times more than those being scattered to us.”
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 1, 2024
His second concern is that the bill specifically prohibits someone from leafletting or talking to someone only about vaccines.
From Salon ● Aug. 11, 2021
Among other things, Tesla security guards repeatedly ordered union organizers to stop leafletting in Tesla’s parking lots and fired one union organizer for allegedly lying during a company investigation.
From The Verge ● Oct. 1, 2019
Volunteers started liking, sharing, leafletting, knocking on doors.
From The New Yorker ● May 27, 2019
Who will find the flyposting, the leafletting, the crowds on the Royal Mile and the endless procession of performers just a tad annoying.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2011
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