leeway
Americannoun
-
leeways
plural
-
extra time, space, materials, or the like, within which to operate; margin.
With ten minutes' leeway we can catch the train.
-
a degree of freedom of action or thought.
His instructions gave us plenty of leeway.
- Synonyms:
- cushion, flexibility, latitude
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Also called sag. Nautical. the amount or angle of the drift of a ship to leeward from its heading.
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Aeronautics. the amount a plane is blown off its normal course by cross winds.
noun
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room for free movement within limits, as in action or expenditure
-
sideways drift of a boat or aircraft
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of leeway
Explanation
Leeway is a term used to describe the amount of freedom available. If you know you have a paper due on Monday, you might ask your teachers if there is any leeway––could you, say, bring it first thing Tuesday morning? Leeway is a nautical term, referring to a vessel's drift to the lee, (nautical for "downwind"). Now, it is very useful in describing those gray areas in life––for example, everyone has a ten-minute leeway when meeting friends where you're not officially late, even if you're not actually on time.
Vocabulary lists containing leeway
Dear Martin
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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.
Lam acknowledged that every administration has the leeway to decide what crimes to prioritize.
From Salon ● Sep. 26, 2026
But retirees like you do have a lot of leeway in how they report their income to a credit-card company.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026
European cities will gain more leeway to curb short-term rentals such as Airbnb under plans aimed at bringing down housing costs in tourism hotspots put forward by the EU Wednesday.
From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026
It resonates in part because pregnant women are routinely handed absolutes with little explanation and expected to comply, so permission to have a little leeway is a welcome relief.
From Slate ● Aug. 27, 2026
That was all there was to it, but it left you precious little leeway.
From "Boy: Tales of a Childhood" by Roald Dahl
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
