lean

[leen]

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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.

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

Related Words for leaned

incline, veer, drift, nod, tilt, recline, tip, slant, prop, twist, bow, cock, prefer, tend, slope, curve, pitch, sag, rest, cant

Examples from the Web for leaned

Contemporary Examples of 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
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
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
Jimbo and I sat next to each other, Indian style, and leaned against the stack of black Hefty bags and electronics.
I Shot Bin Laden
Elliot Ackerman
November 16, 2014
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

Historical Examples of leaned

Her lover played upon his flute, while she leaned against a tree and listened.
Philothea
Lydia Maria Child
As she leaned over him, he smiled faintly, and imprinted a kiss upon her lips.
Philothea
Lydia Maria Child
He leaned back, and began to puff leisurely at his pipe, as if this settled the matter.
Brave and Bold
Horatio Alger
He leaned over the saddle and spurred the pinto into his racing gait.
Way of the Lawless
Max Brand
He had leaned back in the chair and gathered his hat close to his breast, crushing it.
Way of the Lawless
Max Brand

British Dictionary definitions for leaned

Lean

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)

lean

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

lean

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

lean

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

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.

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.