leash

[leesh]

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.

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. 2018

Related Words for leash

rope, cord, tether, strap, control, chain, lead, restraint, curb, bridle, deterrent, hold, check, hog-tie, clog, fetter, secure, suppress, restrain, hamper

Examples from the Web for leash

Contemporary Examples of 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
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
Generally, she was defiant—almost magnificently so—when her demons slipped their leash.
Chris Matthews on the Buckley Mystique
Chris Matthews
May 3, 2009

Historical Examples of leash

As he came near, the girl could hold herself in leash no longer.
Within the Law
Marvin Dana
He must have slipped his cousin's leash, for he was at the Nicaragua almost as soon as I was.
The Bacillus of Beauty
Harriet Stark
But not any known law, human or divine, could hold our thoughts in leash.
In the Valley
Harold Frederic
She strained at the warps that held her like a greyhound at its leash.
The Captain of the Pole-Star and Other Tales
Arthur Conan Doyle
Up to this time he had held his age back in the leash of an iron will.
The Genius
Margaret Horton Potter

British Dictionary definitions for leash

leash

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

Word Origin and History for leash

"thong for holding a dog or hound," c.1300, from Old French laisse "hound's leash," from laissier "loosen," from Latin laxare, from laxus "loose" (see lax). Figurative sense attested from early 15c. The meaning "a set of three" is from early 14c., originally in sporting language.

"to attach to or with a leash," 1590s, from leash (n.). Related: Leashed; leashing.