leather

[leth -er]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR leather ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the skin of an animal, with the hair removed, prepared for use by tanning or a similar process designed to preserve it against decay and make it pliable or supple when dry.

an article made of this material.

stirrup leather.

adjective

pertaining to, made of, or resembling leather: leather processing; leather upholstery.

Slang. catering to or patronized by customers who typically wear leather clothing, often as a means of signaling interest in or preference for sadomasochistic sexual activity.

verb (used with object)

to cover or furnish with leather.

Informal. to beat with a leather strap.

Origin of leather

before 1000; Middle English lether, Old English lether- (in compounds); cognate with Dutch, German leder, Old Norse lethr, MIr lethar skin, leather, Welsh lledr, Middle Breton lezr leather

Related formsun·der·leath·er, nounun·leath·ered, adjective

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

Related Words for leather

skin, thong, strap, thrash, tan, parchment, whip, strop, goatskin, tooling, taws, sheepskin, oxhide

Examples from the Web for leather

Contemporary Examples of leather

With every stroke, her leather boot creaked under the weight of her leg.
Dungeons and Genital Clamps: Inside a Legendary BDSM Chateau
Ian Frisch
December 20, 2014
She tugged on the black rope that wrapped around his thighs and torso, her leather gloves creaking with each adjustment.
Dungeons and Genital Clamps: Inside a Legendary BDSM Chateau
Ian Frisch
December 20, 2014
I am holding in my hand a book, bound in black “genuine top-grain” leather.
Rand Paul’s Many Leather-Bound Books
Olivia Nuzzi
November 27, 2014
Poking out of the shiny gold pages is a “distinctive silk marker”—also gold—which “complements the color of the leather.”
Rand Paul’s Many Leather-Bound Books
Olivia Nuzzi
November 27, 2014
“Now get on your knees and crawl,” he demanded with the slap of a leather horse crop against the palm of his hand.
Whip It: Secrets of a Dominatrix
Justin Jones
November 25, 2014

Historical Examples of leather

Round this a piece of leather is stretched and dressed with emery.
The Story of the Invention of Steel Pens
Henry Bore
Everybody else said that Dozier was the best man that ever pulled a gun out of leather.
Way of the Lawless
Max Brand
My companion paused, drumming on the leather covering of his chair.
The Underdog
F. Hopkinson Smith
As for furs and leather and lumber, no other town in the colonies compared with Albany.
In the Valley
Harold Frederic
When they are cold, tie up the jar; covering the cork with leather.
Directions for Cookery, in its Various Branches
Eliza Leslie

British Dictionary definitions for leather

leather

noun

a material consisting of the skin of an animal made smooth and flexible by tanning, removing the hair, etc
(as modifier)leather goods Related adjectives: coriaceous, leathern

(plural) leather clothes, esp as worn by motorcyclists

the flap of a dog's ear

verb (tr)

to cover with leather

to whip with or as if with a leather strap

Word Origin for leather

Old English lether- (in compound words); related to Old High German leder, Old Norse lethr-

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 leather

Old English leðer (in compounds only) "hide, skin, leather," from Proto-Germanic *lethran (cf. Old Norse leðr, Old Frisian lether, Old Saxon lethar, Middle Dutch, Dutch leder, Old High German ledar, German leder), from PIE *letro- "leather" (cf. Old Irish lethar, Welsh lledr, Breton lezr). As an adjective from early 14c.; it acquired a secondary sense of "sado-masochistic" 1980s, having achieved that status in homosexual jargon in the 1970s.

Idioms and Phrases with leather

leather

see hell-bent for leather.