leash

American  

[leesh] / liʃ /

noun

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

2. check; curb; restraint: a tight leash on one's subordinates.

   to keep one's temper in leash;

   a tight leash on one's subordinates.

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

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verb (used with object)

1. to secure, control, or restrain by or as if by a leash.

   to leash water power for industrial use.

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

leash British  

/ liːʃ /

noun

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

2. something resembling this in function

   he kept a tight leash on his emotions

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

4. eagerly impatient to begin something

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verb

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

Etymology

Origin of leash

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English lesh, variant of lece, lese, from Old French laisse; lease ¹

Example Sentences

“He had me on a very tight leash,” she said.

From The Wall Street Journal

She said she saw Athena wrapping her leash around an agent’s leg and barking frantically.

From Los Angeles Times

And he keeps a tight leash on a group of contestants who operate at various degrees of charming.

From The Wall Street Journal

I feel like a sideshow attraction being led in on a leash.

From Literature

Luckily the works themselves keep slipping this interpretive leash.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• cord
• rope
• strap
• tether