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• left wing
  left wing

  noun

  members of a liberal or radical political party, or those favoring extensive political reform.
• left-wing
  left-wing

  A descriptive term for liberal, radical, or revolutionary political views, particularly the view that there are unacceptable social inequalities in the present order of society. Communists and socialists, as well as moderate liberals, come under the term left-wing. Left-wing groups are sometimes known collectively as the Left. (Compare right-wing.)

left wing

American  

noun

• left wings
  plural

1. members of a liberal or radical political party, or those favoring extensive political reform.

2. such a party or a group of such parties.

3. the part of a political or social organization advocating a liberal or radical position.

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left wing British  

noun

1. (often capital) the leftist faction of an assembly, party, group, etc; the radical or progressive wing

2. the units of an army situated on the left of a battle position

3. sport

   1. the left-hand side of the field of play from the point of view of either team facing its opponents' goal

   2. a player positioned in this area in certain games

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adjective

1. of, belonging to, or relating to the political left wing

left-wing ¹ Cultural  

1. A descriptive term for liberal, radical, or revolutionary political views, particularly the view that there are unacceptable social inequalities in the present order of society. Communists and socialists, as well as moderate liberals, come under the term left-wing. Left-wing groups are sometimes known collectively as the Left. (Compare right-wing.)

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left-wing ² Cultural  

1. A descriptive term for an individual or a political faction that advocates liberal, radical, or even revolutionary policies, usually in favor of overcoming social inequalities. In the United States, left-wing groups generally support federal social welfare programs designed to open opportunities to all citizens. (Compare right-wing.)

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left wing Idioms  

1. The liberal or radical faction of a political group, as in Many consider him a leader of the Democratic Party's left wing. This expression originated in the seating practice of European legislatures, whereby those holding liberal views were assigned to the left side of the house. [First half of 1800s]

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Discover More

Although both major political parties in the United States have left-wing factions, left-wing policies are usually associated with the Democratic party.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• left-winger
  noun
• left-wing
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• left wings
  plural

Etymology

Origin of left wing

First recorded in 1700–10

Compare meaning

How does left-wing compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• left wing vs. right wing

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

left wing left-wing

Delta Air Lines Flight 7 was taxiing for departure when its left wing clipped Air Canada Flight 785’s horizontal stabilizer at around 10:30 a.m.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

With Martinelli and Trossard both gone, there will be more opportunity for Eberechi Eze to play from the left wing, a position he shone in at former club Crystal Palace.

From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026

Ocasio-Cortez, widely known by her initials AOC, burst onto the national political scene with an upset congressional victory in 2018 and rapidly became a leading voice of the Democratic Party's left wing.

From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026

Antonio Nusa and Andreas Schjelderup take turns playing on the left wing and have serviced Haaland well.

From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026

Pelicarnassus had his left wing in a sling.

From "Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody" by Patrick Ness

The incumbent, veteran left-wing leader Luíz Inácio Lula da Silva, will be challenged by 11 candidates, the most prominent of whom is right-winger Flávio Bolsonaro.

From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026

While the 59-year-old identifies with her Social Democrat party's traditional left-wing, she has taken a pragmatic approach to its shift toward the centre.

From Barron's ● Sep. 17, 2026

At the edge of the crowd, I ran into Redi Muci, a member of the Albanian parliament for the left-wing party Lëvizja Bashkë, which translates as the “Together Movement,” and the party’s leader, Arlind Qori.

From Slate ● Sep. 8, 2026

The initiative to change the law was led by 28-year-old Tatjana As'Ad of the small left-wing Free List party.

From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026

It convened in the summer of 1934 with left-wing writers attending from all states.

From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright

Related Words

• left-winger
• leftist
• liberal
• progressive
• radical