leer

¹ American  

[leer] / lɪər /

adjective

British Dialect.

1. having no burden or load.

2. faint for lack of food; hungry.

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leer ² American  

[leer] / lɪər /

verb (used without object)

1. to look with a sideways or oblique glance, especially suggestive of lascivious interest or sly and malicious intent.

   Go away! I can't concentrate with you leering at me.

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noun

1. a lascivious or sly look.

leer British  

/ lɪə /

verb

1. (intr) to give an oblique, sneering, or suggestive look or grin

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noun

1. such a look

Other Word Forms

• leering adjective
• leeringly adverb

Etymology

Origin of leer¹

before 1050; Middle English lere, Old English gelǣr; cognate with German leer empty

Origin of leer¹

First recorded in 1520–30; perhaps verb use of obsolete noun leer “cheek” ( Middle English leor, Old English hlēor; cognate with Old Norse hlȳr (plural))

Example Sentences

At the gym, located in Garden Grove, Hansen says they were met with unwelcoming and leering stares before entering the facility.

From Los Angeles Times

Her mouth hung open in a leering smile, and her teeth were large and razor sharp, with a prominent set of gleaming white incisors.

From Literature

The final shot is one of the most foreboding in Hollywood history, with Nazis in uniform reflected in the cabaret’s distorted mirror, leering from the VIP seats at the front of the stage.

From Salon

But when she played the early solo cut “Money” too, a leering rap banger, she showed she’s always had this in her.

From Los Angeles Times

There are T-shirts, phones, watches, furniture, clocks, slippers, tents, wallets, trading cards, eye shadow and roller skates with Garfield’s leering image.

From New York Times