leave off


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Related to leave off: left off

leave 1

 (lēv)
v. left (lĕft), leav·ing, leaves
v.tr.
1. To go out of or away from: not allowed to leave the room.
2.
a. To go without taking or removing: left my book on the bus.
b. To omit or exclude: left out the funniest part of the story.
3. To have as a result, consequence, or remainder: The car left a trail of exhaust fumes. Two from eight leaves six.
4. To cause or allow to be or remain in a specified state: left the lights on.
5.
a. To have remaining after death: left a young son.
b. To bequeath: left her money to charity.
6. To give over to another to control or act on: Leave all the details to us.
7.
a. To abandon or forsake: leave home; left her husband.
b. To remove oneself from association with or participation in: left the navy for civilian life.
8.
a. To give or deposit, as for use or information, upon one's departure or in one's absence: He left a note for you. Leave your name and address.
b. To cause or permit to be or remain: left myself plenty of time.
9. Nonstandard To allow or permit; let.
v.intr.
To set out or depart; go: When can you leave?
Phrasal Verb:
leave off
1. To stop; cease.
2. To stop doing or using.
Idioms:
leave/let alone
To refrain from disturbing or interfering.
leave no stone unturned
To make every possible effort.

[Middle English leaven, from Old English lǣfan; see leip- in Indo-European roots.]

leav′er n.
Usage Note: In formal writing leave is not an acceptable substitute for let in the sense "to allow or permit." Thus in the following examples, only let should be used: Let me be. Let him go. Let us not quarrel. This use of leave is normally edited out of written prose but remains common in speech. · Leave alone is an acceptable substitute for let alone in the sense "to refrain from disturbing or interfering with." As far back as 1968, a majority of the Usage Panel approved the following example: Leave him alone, and he will produce. Some people feel that leave alone should mean simply "to depart from someone who remains in solitude," as in They were left alone in the wilderness. There is no harm in observing this restriction, but expecting it of others is unrealistic.

leave 2

 (lēv)
n.
1. Permission to do something. See Synonyms at permission.
2. An act of departing; a farewell: took leave of her with a heavy heart.

[Middle English leve, from Old English lēafe, dative and accusative of lēaf; see leubh- in Indo-European roots.]

leave 3

 (lēv)
intr.v. leaved, leav·ing, leaves
To put forth foliage; leaf.

[Middle English leaven, from leaf, leaf; see leaf.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

leave off

vb
1. (intr) to stop; cease
2. (tr, adverb) to stop wearing or using
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Verb1.leave off - come to an end, stop or cease; "the road leaves off at the edge of the forest"; "leave off where you started"
discontinue - come to or be at an end; "the support from our sponsoring agency will discontinue after March 31"
2.leave off - prevent from being included or considered or accepted; "The bad results were excluded from the report"; "Leave off the top piece"
do away with, eliminate, get rid of, extinguish - terminate, end, or take out; "Let's eliminate the course on Akkadian hieroglyphics"; "Socialism extinguished these archaic customs"; "eliminate my debts"
elide - leave or strike out; "This vowel is usually elided before a single consonant"
3.leave off - stop using; "leave off your jacket--no need to wear it here"
cease, discontinue, lay off, quit, stop, give up - put an end to a state or an activity; "Quit teasing your little brother"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

leave 1

verb
1. To move or proceed away from a place:
Slang: blow, split, take off.
2. To give (property) to another person after one's death:
3. To give up or leave without intending to return or claim again:
4. To relinquish one's engagement in or occupation with:
phrasal verb
leave off
1. To come to a cessation:
2. To cease trying to accomplish or continue:
Informal: swear off.
Slang: lay off.
3. To desist from, cease, or discontinue (a habit, for example):
Slang: kick.
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations

w>leave off

vt sep clothesnicht anziehen; lidnicht darauf tun, ablassen (inf); radio, lightsauslassen; umlautweglassen; you can leave your coat offdu brauchst deinen Mantel nicht anzuziehen; don’t leave the top off your penlass den Füllhalter nicht offen or ohne Kappe liegen; you left her name off the listSie haben ihren Namen nicht in die Liste aufgenommen
vi +prep obj (inf)aufhören; we left off work after lunchwir haben nach dem Mittagessen Feierabend gemacht; leave off doing that, will you!hör auf damit, ja?
vi (inf)aufhören; leave off!lass das!; he picked up where he left off last yearer machte weiter, wo er letztes Jahr aufgehört hatte
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
References in classic literature ?
To which Samson replied, "The difference between the two sorts of madmen is, that he who is so will he nil he, will be one always, while he who is so of his own accord can leave off being one whenever he likes."
So when the Old Man was dead each of the youths put a weed upon his hat and wore it until he was himself old, when, seeing that neither would give in, they agreed that the younger should leave off his weeds and the elder give him half of the estate.
All the time they were playing the Queen never left off quarrelling with the other players, and shouting `Off with his head!' or `Off with her head!' Those whom she sentenced were taken into custody by the soldiers, who of course had to leave off being arches to do this, so that by the end of half an hour or so there were no arches left, and all the players, except the King, the Queen, and Alice, were in custody and under sentence of execution.
"If you once let him begin a Poem," he said to Sylvie, "he'll never leave off again!
I remember that one day being a little more serious than ordinary, and finding I had so good a stock beforehand as I had, for I had near #200 in money for my share, it came strongly into my mind, no doubt from some kind spirit, if such there be, that at first poverty excited me, and my distresses drove me to these dreadful shifts; so seeing those distresses were now relieved, and I could also get something towards a maintenance by working, and had so good a bank to support me, why should I now not leave off, as they say, while I was well?