leash
Americannoun
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leashes
plural
noun
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a line or rope used to walk or control a dog or other animal; lead
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something resembling this in function
he kept a tight leash on his emotions
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hunting three of the same kind of animal, usually hounds, foxes, or hares
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eagerly impatient to begin something
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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leashsimple
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leashessimple
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have leashedperfect
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has leashedperfect
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am leashingprogressive
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are leashingprogressive
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is leashingprogressive
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have been leashingperfect progressive
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has been leashingperfect progressive
Past
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leashedsimple
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had leashedperfect
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was leashingprogressive
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were leashingprogressive
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had been leashingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of leash
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English lesh, variant of lece, lese, from Old French laisse; see lease 1
Explanation
Dog owners who live in the city need a leash, a rope or cord attached to the dog's collar that helps his owner keep him safe and restrained. When you walk a dog, you hold his leash to guide him along the sidewalk and keep him from chasing squirrels into busy streets. The word leash is also useful for describing a figurative kind of guide or restraint: "The teachers at that school keep their students on a short leash when they take field trips downtown." The students aren't on actual leashes, but they are constrained. Leash comes from the Old French word laissier, or "loose."
Vocabulary lists containing leash
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:
“You are dealing with imperfect information. So the mindset is to take down the exposure if it is the beginning of the end. We have a short leash on these stocks,” he said.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026
She added there had been "no safety briefing" beforehand, none of the participants had the right type of leash for their boards in these conditions and Lloyd did not have any next of kin details.
From BBC ● Jun. 5, 2026
They should also use a leash if their dog is outdoors during mail delivery.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 2026
Sri Lanka's police kennels department was mobilised to ensure that local street dogs did not attack Aloka, who was led on a leash held by an army commando.
From Barron's ● Apr. 22, 2026
Whining, he turned and sniffed all the way back again, the leash dragging behind him.
From "Earthquake Terror" by Peg Kehret
Despite the screwball setup, “The Hitch” is, as much as anything, a moving meditation on loneliness, longing and familial short leashes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 20, 2026
He muscled it into the cage elevator, leashes in hand, the machine balanced against his hip like a prize wrested from fate.
From Salon ● Aug. 19, 2025
All of these animals are loose, liberated from the confines of cages and leashes, and yet no havoc has ensued.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 23, 2025
She said she had seen people with boards the wrong way round and leashes, which should be attached to legs or waists, around people's wrists.
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2024
He's walking two dogs, their leashes crossing and uncrossing as the dogs try to get ahead of each other.
From "The Sky at Our Feet" by Nadia Hashimi
A German Jew in 1920s Hamburg, Walther Laqueur stands on his home’s front steps with his sleek Doberman leashed and ready for a walk.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
One of the officers confirmed in his declaration that Wilcox “physically pulled a leashed goat from my possession.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2024
In defense of his owner, the leashed dog dispatched the attacking canine in less than 30 seconds – enough for a TikTok video, had TikTok been around in the 80s.
From Salon ● Feb. 1, 2024
Top tips: Don’t ever try feed a moose or see it up close, and make sure to keep any pets leashed around the animals.
From National Geographic ● Aug. 17, 2023
Meanwhile, inside the barn, the scrappy young puppy, Tater, is leashed to a post.
From "Dog Squad" by Chris Grabenstein
This includes proper training, identifying problematic behaviours, leashing dogs in public and microchipping pets.
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2025
I would feel differently, if say, you were in a public park that required leashing and the dog that attacked Lulu was off-leash.
From Slate ● Sep. 15, 2023
The agency recommends making noise and leashing pets while hiking in bear territory.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 22, 2022
Last week, Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin and Assemblywoman Yvonne Lopez sponsored the "Responsible Dog Ownership Act," which would create stronger laws related to the leashing and fencing of dogs.
From Fox News ● Mar. 30, 2021
When she is dead I know you'll buy another Queen— Giving a county for her, gaining a duchy with her— And put me to wet nursing, leashing me with the thralls.
From King Lear's Wife; The Crier by Night; The Riding to Lithend; Midsummer-Eve; Laodice and Dana? by Gordon Bottomley
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
