leash

[ leesh ]

/ liʃ /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR leash ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a chain, strap, etc., for controlling or leading a dog or other animal; lead.

check; curb; restraint: to keep one's temper in leash; a tight leash on one's subordinates.

Hunting. a brace and a half, as of foxes or hounds.

verb (used with object)

to secure, control, or restrain by or as if by a leash: to leash water power for industrial use.

to bind together by or as if by a leash; connect; link; associate.

Nearby words

lease-purchase, leaseback, leasehold, leaseholder, leaseman, leash, leash law, leasing, least, least bittern, least common denominator

Origin of leash

1250–1300; Middle English lesh, variant of lece, lese < Old French laisse. See lease¹

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

Examples from the Web for leash

In the article, she spoke about her boyfriend taking her to clubs on a leash and collar.
The Black Widow of Silicon Valley|Michael Daly|July 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
With Dallas in Magic Mike, Steven [Soderbergh] did nothing but let the leash go.
Matthew McConaughey on ‘Magic Mike,’ Thongs & Losing Weight|Ramin Setoodeh|November 27, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Generally, she was defiant—almost magnificently so—when her demons slipped their leash.
Chris Matthews on the Buckley Mystique|Chris Matthews|May 3, 2009|DAILY BEAST
Recaptured Carlow pulled and strained at his leash; Bruce softly whined and trembled spasmodically, sitting on Stepan's foot.
The Romance of the Woods|F. J. Whishaw

Jameson was away up on the frontier tugging at his leash, fretting to burst over the border.
Following the Equator, Complete|Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
One of our friends has to-day a young otter, which he leads about in a leash.
Poachers and Poaching|John Watson
The leash by which it was held slipped gradually from the arm of an attendant and it was unconfined.
Atm|Caroline Augusta Frazer
Ranging up beside the judge, the Mistress took off Lad's leash and collar.
Lad: A Dog|Albert Payson Terhune

British Dictionary definitions for leash

leash

/ (liːʃ) /

noun

a line or rope used to walk or control a dog or other animal; lead

something resembling this in functionhe kept a tight leash on his emotions

hunting three of the same kind of animal, usually hounds, foxes, or hares

straining at the leash eagerly impatient to begin something

verb

(tr) to control or secure by or as if by a leash

Word Origin for leash

C13: from Old French laisse, from laissier to loose (hence, to let a dog run on a leash), ultimately from Latin laxus lax

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