left

[ left ]

/ lɛft /

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See synonyms for: left / lefts on Thesaurus.com

adjective

being, relating to, or located on or nearest to the side where a person’s heart normally is (opposed to right): Dan was ahead of me and on the left side of the street. I have arthritis in my left knee.

Often Left . of or belonging to the political Left; having liberal or radical views in politics.

Mathematics. pertaining to an element of a set that has a given property when written on the left of an element or set of elements of the set: a left identity, as 1 in 1 ⋅ x = x.

noun

the left side or something that is on the left side; the direction toward that side: The laundry room is the first door on your left.Move the picture about a foot to the left so it’s centered above the sofa.

a turn toward the left: Make a left at the next corner.

the left or the Left .

the complex of individuals or organized groups advocating liberal reform or revolutionary change in the social, political, or economic order.Compare right (def. 33a).
the position held by these people.Compare right (def. 33b).
left wing. Compare right wing.

Usually Left .Government.

the part of a legislative assembly, especially in continental Europe, that is situated on the left side of the presiding officer and that is customarily assigned to members of the legislature who hold more radical and socialistic views than the rest of the members.
the members of such an assembly who sit on the left.

Boxing. a blow delivered by the left hand.

Baseball. left field (def. 1).

adverb

toward the left: She moved left on entering the room.

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Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of left

First recorded in 1125–75; 1935–40 for def. 6; Middle English left, lift, luft, Old English left “idle, weak, useless,” Kentish form of lyft- (in lyftādl “palsy”); cognate with Dutch, Low German lucht; akin to Middle English libbe (modern dialect lib ) “to castrate,” cognate with Dutch, Low German lubben

Words nearby left

lee wave, leeway, Le Fanu, Lefkoşa, lefse, left, Left Bank, left brain, left-brained, left-branching, left-eyed flounder

Other definitions for left (2 of 2)

left²

[ left ]

/ lɛft /

verb

simple past tense and past participle of leave¹.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use left in a sentence

You can see your customers on the left, click on them to load the chat window and then respond to their chats.
Google My Business adds messaging to desktop interface|Barry Schwartz|February 11, 2021|Search Engine Land
In the minutes before the Sikorsky helicopter carrying Kobe Bryant and seven other passengers crashed in Calabasas, California, its pilot made a left turn.
This surprisingly common flight issue contributed to Kobe Bryant’s helicopter crash|Rob Verger|February 11, 2021|Popular-Science
Moler calculated that Zobayan could have felt as though he was climbing to the right, not diving to the left.
Helicopter pilot flying Kobe Bryant didn’t follow his training when flying into disorienting clouds, federal investigators say|Ian Duncan|February 9, 2021|Washington Post
Noting that a member of Congress died after contracting the virus then becomes simply a left-wing smear.
What you’re saying when you say that covering the coronavirus is partisan|Philip Bump|February 9, 2021|Washington Post

Moving forward, we can’t have a vacuum of radicals on the left or the right.
Republican Rep. Nancy Mace on the Capitol insurrection: ‘We need to rebuild our party’|KK Ottesen|February 9, 2021|Washington Post
Not to be left behind, progressives in neighboring Wisconsin clamored to join the cutting edge of public health.
Anti-Fluoriders Are The OG Anti-Vaxxers|Michael Schulson|July 27, 2016|DAILY BEAST
Gay marriage was the hot-button fight on the left and right.
Jeb Bush’s Unseen Anti-Gay Marriage Emails|Jackie Kucinich|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Clad in a blue, striped button-down, a silver watch adorning his left wrist, Huckabee beams on the cover.
Huckabee 2016: Bend Over and Take It Like a Prisoner!|Olivia Nuzzi|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Meanwhile, almost exactly 30 years after the trial, the judge left his home to board a steamboat and was never heard from again.
New York’s Most Tragic Ghost Loves Minimalist Swedish Fashion|Nina Strochlic|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Morris searched for whatever strength was left in his malnourished body.
Powerful Congressman Writes About ‘Fleshy Breasts’|Asawin Suebsaeng|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
What need to look to right or left when you are swallowing up free mile after mile of dizzying road?
The Joyous Adventures of Aristide Pujol|William J. Locke
She is quite true, but not wise, and your left hand must not know what your right hand is doing.
Checkmate|Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
The vision—it had been an instantaneous flash after all and nothing more—had left his mind completely for the time.
The Wave|Algernon Blackwood
She had just left the wharf at Cincinnati for Louisville, with 225 passengers on board, of whom but 124 were saved.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology|Joel Munsell
Thus was the man left entirely to the devil, not even his life being reserved, as in the case of Job.
Solomon and Solomonic Literature|Moncure Daniel Conway

British Dictionary definitions for left (1 of 2)

left¹

/ (lɛft) /

adjective

(usually prenominal) of or designating the side of something or someone that faces west when the front is turned towards the north

(usually prenominal) worn on a left hand, foot, etc

(sometimes capital) of or relating to the political or intellectual left

(sometimes capital) radical or progressive, esp as compared to less radical or progressive groups, persons, etc

adverb

on or in the direction of the left

noun

a left side, direction, position, area, or partRelated adjectives: sinister, sinistral

(often capital) the supporters or advocates of varying degrees of social, political, or economic change, reform, or revolution designed to promote the greater freedom, power, welfare, or comfort of the common people

to the left radical in the methods, principles, etc, employed in striving to achieve such change

boxing

a blow with the left hand
the left hand

Word Origin for left

Old English left idle, weak, variant of lyft- (in lyftādl palsy, literally: left-disease); related to Middle Dutch lucht left

British Dictionary definitions for left (2 of 2)

left²

/ (lɛft) /

verb

the past tense and past participle of leave 1

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with left

left

In addition to the idioms beginning with left

left field
left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing, the
left wing

also see:

hang a left
out in left field
right and left
take up where one left off
two left feet

left

Origin of left

Words nearby left

Other definitions for left (2 of 2)

Words related to left

How to use left in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for left (1 of 2)

Word Origin for left

British Dictionary definitions for left (2 of 2)

Other Idioms and Phrases with left