lean

[ leen ]

/ lin /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR lean ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object), leaned or (especially British) leant; lean·ing.

to incline or bend from a vertical position: She leaned out the window.

to incline, as in a particular direction; slant: The post leans to the left. The building leaned sharply before renovation.

to incline in feeling, opinion, action, etc.: to lean toward socialism.

to rest against or on something for support: to lean against a wall.

to depend or rely (usually followed by on or upon): someone he could lean on in an emergency.

verb (used with object), leaned or (especially British) leant; lean·ing.

to incline or bend: He leaned his head forward.

to cause to lean or rest; prop: to lean a chair against the railing.

noun

the act or state of leaning; inclination: The tower has a pronounced lean.

Verb Phrases

lean in,

to shift one's body weight forward or toward someone or something: He stood near home plate and leaned in for the pitch.
to embrace risk, be assertive, etc., as to achieve the greatest level of success in the workplace: She really knows how to lean in—she'll have a corner office before long.

lean on, Informal.

to exert influence or pressure on in order to gain cooperation, maintain discipline, or the like: The state is leaning on the company to clean up its industrial wastes.
to criticize, reprimand, or punish: I would have enjoyed school more if the teachers hadn't leaned on me so much.

Nearby words

Idioms

lean over backward(s). bend¹(def 21).

Origin of lean

before 900; Middle English lenen, Old English hleonian, hlinian; cognate with G. lehnen; akin to Latin clīnāre to incline, Greek klī́nein

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

Examples from the Web for leaned

Freed from her guitar, but wearing counterintuitive pumps, she leaned back like a trapeze artist.
Is Bigger Better for St. Vincent?|David Yaffe|December 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
My partner got in the “tub” first and I leaned back on her so she could give me the old reacharound.
I Tried Cosmo’s New Lesbian Sex Tips|Samantha Allen|November 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He pressed a hollow shell casing into my palm and leaned towards my ear, “I PICKED IT UP FROM THE BEDROOM!”
I Shot Bin Laden|Elliot Ackerman|November 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
As that clip played, Camille leaned over and gave her husband a playful poke in the ribs.
Why Comedians Still Think Bill Cosby Is a Genius|Mark Whitaker|October 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST

When he opened the door, he leaned on his oxygen tank as police shone a spotlight on him.
'Go Ahead and Shoot Me': The Veteran Who Defied Ferguson's Cops|Justin Glawe|August 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She leaned toward him, and to poor Tom she looked the incarnation of enticing loveliness.
A Book o' Nine Tales.|Arlo Bates
As he watched the front of the truck, Jake, who stood a few feet to one side, leaned out and seized his shoulder.
Brandon of the Engineers|Harold Bindloss
Priscilla leaned over the gunwale and stared long at the boat which Frank pointed out.
Priscilla's Spies|George A. Birmingham
Against the back of the cushioned settle where they sat she leaned a weary head, and frankly let her fringed lids droop.
Queed|Henry Sydnor Harrison
The latter, looking at Pellisson, leaned upon the surintendante, and pressed the icy hand of the Marquise de Belliere.
The Vicomte de Bragelonne|Alexandre Dumas

British Dictionary definitions for leaned (1 of 3)

Lean

/ (liːn) /

noun

Sir David. 1908–91, English film director. His films include In Which We Serve (1942), Blithe Spirit (1945), Brief Encounter (1946), Great Expectations (1946), Oliver Twist (1948), The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Dr Zhivago (1965), and A Passage to India (1984)

British Dictionary definitions for leaned (2 of 3)

lean

/ (liːn) /

verb leans, leaning, leaned or leant

(foll by against, on, or upon) to rest or cause to rest against a support

to incline or cause to incline from a vertical position

(intr; foll by to or towards) to have or express a tendency or leaning

lean over backwards informal to make a special effort, esp in order to please

noun

the condition of inclining from a vertical position

Word Origin for lean

Old English hleonian, hlinian; related to Old High German hlinēn, Latin clīnāre to incline

British Dictionary definitions for leaned (3 of 3)

lean

/ (liːn) /

adjective

(esp of a person or an animal) having no surplus flesh or bulk; not fat or plump

not bulky or full

(of meat) having little or no fat

not rich, abundant, or satisfying

(of a mixture of fuel and air) containing insufficient fuel and too much aira lean mixture

(of printer's type) having a thin appearance

(of a paint) containing relatively little oil

(of an ore) not having a high mineral content

(of concrete) made with a small amount of cement

noun

the part of meat that contains little or no fat

Derived Formsleanly, adverbleanness, noun

Word Origin for lean

Old English hlǣne, of Germanic origin

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 leaned (1 of 3)

lean

"action or state of leaning," 1776, from lean (v.).

Word Origin and History for leaned (1 of 3)

lean

c.1200, from Old English hleonian "to bend, recline, lie down, rest," from Proto-Germanic *khlinen (cf. Old Saxon hlinon, Old Frisian lena, Middle Dutch lenen, Dutch leunen, Old High German hlinen, German lehnen "to lean"), from PIE root *klei- "to lean, to incline" (cf. Sanskrit srayati "leans," sritah "leaning;" Old Persian cay "to lean;" Lithuanian slyti "to slope," slieti "to lean;" Latin clinare "to lean, bend," clivus "declivity," inclinare "cause to bend," declinare "bend down, turn aside;" Greek klinein "to cause to slope, slant, incline;" Old Irish cloin "crooked, wrong;" Middle Irish cle, Welsh cledd "left," literally "slanting;" Welsh go-gledd "north," literally "left" -- for similar sense evolution, see Yemen, Benjamin, southpaw).

Meaning "to incline the body against something for support" is mid-13c. Figurative sense of "to trust for support" is from early 13c. Sense of "to lean toward mentally, to favor" is from late 14c. Related: Leaned; leaning. Colloquial lean on "put pressure on" (someone) is first recorded 1960.

Word Origin and History for leaned (2 of 3)

lean

adj.

"thin, spare, with little flesh or fat," c.1200, from Old English hlæne "lean, thin," possibly from hlænan "cause to lean or bend," from Proto-Germanic *khlainijan, which would connect it to Old English hleonian (see lean (v.)). But perhaps rather, according to OED, from a PIE *qloinio- (cf. Lithuanian klynas "scrap, fragment," Lettish kleins "feeble"). Extended and figurative senses from early 14c. The noun meaning "lean animals or persons" is from c.1200, from the adjective.

lean

verb (used without object), leaned or (especially British) leant; lean·ing.

verb (used with object), leaned or (especially British) leant; lean·ing.

noun

Verb Phrases

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Nearby words

Idioms

Origin of lean

Examples from the Web for leaned

British Dictionary definitions for leaned (1 of 3)

Lean

noun

British Dictionary definitions for leaned (2 of 3)

lean

verb leans, leaning, leaned or leant

noun

Word Origin for lean

British Dictionary definitions for leaned (3 of 3)

lean

adjective

noun

Word Origin for lean

Word Origin and History for leaned (1 of 3)

lean

Word Origin and History for leaned (1 of 3)

lean

Word Origin and History for leaned (2 of 3)

lean