English Dictionary — Definitions & Meanings

legibly

adv

Written or printed clearly enough to be read.

legion

noun

A large division of the ancient Roman army, typically a few thousand infantry plus cavalry support.

legionary

noun

A soldier who served in a legion, particularly in the army of ancient Rome.

legionnaire

noun

A member of a legion, particularly the French Foreign Legion, a famous unit historically open to foreign recruits.

legislate

verb

To make laws, including changing or cancelling laws that already exist.

legislated

adj

Brought about by a law.

legislation

noun

The process of drafting and passing laws.

legislative

adj

Relating to making laws, or having the authority to make them.

legislator

noun

A person who makes laws.

legislature

noun

An official body of people, such as a parliament or congress, with the power to make, change, and repeal laws.

legit

adj

Informal for legitimate: genuine, honest, or allowed by the rules.

legitimacy

noun

The state of being lawful, valid, or generally accepted as proper.

legitimate

adj

Allowed by, or in agreement with, the law.

legitimately

adv

In a lawful, genuine, or properly justified way.

legitimateness

noun

Being legitimate, or accepted as proper and lawful.

legitimatize

verb

To make something officially acceptable or lawful.

legitimise

verb

A non-Oxford British English standard spelling of legitimize.

legitimize

verb

To make something officially lawful or accepted as valid.

legitness

noun

(informal) Being genuine or trustworthy.

legless

adj

Having no legs.

leglet

noun

An ornamental band that is worn around the leg.

Lego

noun

Small interlocking plastic building bricks, best known under the Lego brand, used to construct toy models.

legover

noun

An instance of having sex.

Legrand

name

A French surname meaning "the tall one" or "the great one."

legs

noun

The streaks that form on the inside of a wine glass after swirling, used informally to judge a wine's body.

legume

noun

The seed or pod of a pea, bean or similar plant, eaten as food.

legwork

noun

Practical groundwork, research, or preparation that takes real time and effort, often literally involving travel or walking.

Leh

particle

A Singlish/Singapore English sentence-ending particle used to soften a disagreement, offer a tentative suggestion, or gently remind the listener of something.

Lehman

name

A surname of German-Jewish origin, meaning "fief holder" or "vassal."

lei

noun

A garland made of flowers, leaves, or shells, traditionally worn around the neck in Hawaii as a sign of welcome or celebration.

Leia

name

A feminine given name popularized by Princess Leia from the "Star Wars" films.

Leicester

noun

A breed of English sheep prized for both its meat and its long, lustrous wool.

leicestershire

name

An inland county of England bordered by Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire, Rutland, Northamptonshire, Warwickshire and Derbyshire.

leicestrian

adj

Connected with the city of Leicester.

leigh

noun

An old, mostly literary or dialectal word for a meadow or a clearing in a forest.

Leighton

name

An English surname and given name meaning "herb garden settlement" or "meadow farm."

Leila

name

A feminine given name of Arabic origin, meaning "night," a variant spelling of Layla.

leipsic

name

The name of a village in Ohio.

Leipzig

name

A city in Germany, historically significant for its trade fairs, music, and the Battle of Leipzig.

leisure

noun

Free time away from work or other obligations, used for rest or enjoyment.

leisurely

adj

Relaxed and unhurried.

Leith

name

A surname and place name, notably a port district of Edinburgh, Scotland.

leitmotif

noun

A tune linked to one character, place or idea, repeated through an opera.

lek

noun

The official currency of Albania.

lekker

adj

(informal) Pleasant, tasty or enjoyable.

Lela

name

A feminine given name, a variant of Leila or a short form of names like Angelina.

Leland

name

A masculine given name and surname of English origin, meaning "fallow land" or "meadow land."

Lele

noun

A member of the Lele people, an ethnic group of the Democratic Republic of the Congo closely related to the Kuba.

LEM

noun

The Lunar (Excursion) Module, the spacecraft that carried astronauts down to the Moon's surface during the Apollo missions.

leman

noun

A lover or sweetheart, often one kept secret.

lemel

noun

Fine metal shavings or filings produced by filing or grinding metal.

lemma

noun

In mathematics, a proposition that is proved or accepted so that it can be used in proving another proposition.

lemme

contraction

An informal, spoken-style contraction of "let me."

lemming

noun

A small rodent found in Arctic and sub-Arctic regions, known for periodic dramatic population swings.

Lemmy

name

A masculine given name, a nickname form used notably by the musician Lemmy Kilmister of Motörhead.

lemniscus

noun

One of a pair of oval structures inside the body of an acanthocephalan worm.

lemon

noun

A yellow, oval citrus fruit with sour juice.

lemonade

noun

A drink made from lemon juice, water, and sugar, sometimes carbonated.

Lemond

name

A surname notably borne by cyclist Greg LeMond, the first American to win the Tour de France.

lemongrass

noun

A grass of the genus Cymbopogon, especially Cymbopogon citratus, that has a lemon-like taste and smell and is used in cooking, tea and fragrance.

lemur

noun

A tree-dwelling primate native to Madagascar, known for large eyes and, in some species, a long ringed tail.

lemures

noun

The ghosts of the dead, thought of as harmful spirits.

lemuria

name

A religious feast of Ancient Rome during which rites were performed to exorcise the malevolent ghosts of the dead from their homes.

Len

noun

A short form of the male given name Leonard.

Lena

name

A feminine given name, a short form of names such as Helena or Magdalena.

lenape

noun

A member of an indigenous people who lived around the Delaware River, New Jersey and New York before European settlers arrived.

lend

verb

To let someone use something of yours for a while, on the understanding they will give it back.

lender

noun

A person or organisation that lends money, especially as a business.

lending

noun

The act or business of giving out loans, whether of money or goods.

lene

noun

In phonetics, an unaspirated (or "smooth") voiceless stop consonant, as opposed to an aspirated one.

leng

adjective

British slang for good-looking or excellent; a synonym of "peng."

length

noun

The measurement of something from one end to the other, along its longest side.

lengthen

verb

To make something longer, or to become longer.

lengthiness

noun

The quality of being lengthy or long-winded.

lengthsome

adj

Rather long or drawn out.

lengthwise

adj

Running along the longest side of something.

lengthy

adj

Going on for a long time, often longer than expected or wanted.

lenience

noun

Kindness or mercy shown when deciding how severely to punish someone.

leniency

noun

Mercy or a light touch when it comes to punishing someone.

lenient

adj

Not strict; willing to allow mistakes or wrongdoing without harsh punishment.

lenify

verb

To ease or lessen something, such as pain or a fever.

Lenin

name

A surname, the revolutionary alias of Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, founder of the Soviet state.

Leningrad

name

The former name of the Russian city of Saint Petersburg, used from 1924 to 1991 in honor of Vladimir Lenin.

leninist

adj

Connected with Vladimir Lenin, the Russian revolutionary leader.

lenition

noun

In phonetics and phonology, a weakening in how a consonant is pronounced, making it softer.

lenitive

adj

Able to relieve pain.

lenity

noun

Kindness or mercy shown towards someone instead of harsh punishment.

lennard

name

A surname taken from the given name that derives from Leonard.

Lennon

name

An Irish surname, also used as a given name, famously borne by musician John Lennon.

Lennox

name

A Scottish surname and given name derived from a place name meaning "field of elms."

Lenny

name

A masculine given name, a diminutive form of Leonard.

leno

noun

A light, open-weave fabric used mainly for curtains, made by twisting pairs of threads around each other.

Lenora

name

A feminine given name, a variant form of Eleanor or Leonora.

Lenore

name

A feminine given name, a variant of Eleanor, notably used in Edgar Allan Poe's poem "The Raven."

Lenox

name

A surname and place name, a variant spelling of Lennox.

lens

noun

A curved piece of glass or plastic that bends light to focus or spread it out, used in glasses, cameras, and telescopes.

Lent

verb

Past tense and past participle of lend.

lenticular

adj

Connected with a lens.

lentigo

noun

A brown spot of pigment on the skin.

lentil

noun

A small, disc-shaped edible seed from a legume plant, commonly dried and used in soups and stews.

lento

noun

A musical instruction telling players to play a passage very slowly.

lentous

adj

Sticky, thick and stretchy.

lentulid

noun

Any grasshopper belonging to the family Lentulidae.

Leo

noun

The zodiac sign covering roughly late July to late August, symbolised by the lion.

leodensian

noun

A person from Leeds, a city in the north of England.

Leon

name

A masculine given name of Greek origin, meaning "lion."

Leona

name

A female given name, the feminine form of Leo/Leon, ultimately meaning "lioness."

Leonard

name

A masculine given name of Germanic origin, meaning "brave lion" or "lion-hearted."

Leonardo

name

A male given name, the Italian form of Leonard.

leone

noun

The main unit of currency of Sierra Leone, divided into 100 cents.

leong

name

A Chinese surname deriving from Cantonese.

Leonid

noun

A meteor belonging to the Leonid shower, an annual display of shooting stars that appears to radiate from the constellation Leo each November.

Leonidas

name

A masculine given name of Greek origin, meaning "son of the lion," borne by the Spartan king who fought at Thermopylae.

Leonie

name

A feminine given name, a French and German form of Leona, meaning "lioness."

Leonora

name

A feminine given name of Italian origin, a short form of Eleonora, cognate to Eleanor.

leopard

noun

A large wild cat with a yellow or tan coat covered in dark rosette-shaped spots, found across Africa and Asia.

Leopold

name

A masculine given name of Germanic origin, common in the 19th century but rare today.

leotard

noun

A tight, one-piece garment covering the torso, often worn for gymnastics, dance, or exercise.

leper

noun

A person suffering from leprosy, a disease that damages the skin and nerves.

leprechaun

noun

A small, mischievous fairy from Irish folklore, usually pictured as an old man in green who guards a pot of gold.

Leroy

name

A French surname meaning "the king", also used as a masculine given name in English.

Les

name

A diminutive of the given names Lester or Leslie.

lesbian

adj

Describing a woman who is romantically or sexually attracted to other women.

Lesbos

name

An island of Greece in the northeastern Aegean Sea.

lesion

noun

An area of damaged or diseased tissue, such as a wound, sore, or abnormal patch on the skin or an organ.

Lesley

name

A Scottish surname, also used as a given name for both men and women, especially popular for girls in the mid-20th century UK.

Leslie

name

A Scottish surname, also used as a unisex given name; also the name of several villages in Scotland.

less

adj

Smaller in amount, degree, or quantity; not as much.

lessen

verb

To make something smaller in size, degree, or intensity; to reduce it.

lessening

noun

A gradual decrease or reduction in something.

lesser

adj

Smaller, less important, or of lower rank, especially when comparing two things.

Lessing

name

A German surname.

lesson

noun

A single period of teaching, or a fixed unit within a course of study.

lessor

noun

The person who owns a property and rents it out to a tenant under a lease.

lest

conj

Used to introduce something that must be avoided or guarded against; so that not; in case.

Lester

name

An English surname derived from the place name Leicester, also used as a masculine given name.

let

verb

To allow someone or something to do a particular thing, or to happen without stopping it.

letch

noun

A stream or pool found in marshy ground.

lethal

adj

Capable of causing death; deadly.

lethality

noun

How capable something is of causing death.

lethargic

adj

Lacking energy or enthusiasm; sluggish and drowsy.

lethargy

noun

A lack of energy and enthusiasm; sluggishness or drowsiness.

lethe

name

A personification of oblivion, said to be the daughter of Eris.

Letitia

name

A feminine given name of Latin origin, popular in medieval England and now rather rare.

Leto

name

In Greek mythology, the mother of Apollo and Artemis; also used as a surname.

letter

noun

A written symbol representing a sound of a language, used to build words; one character of the alphabet.

letterbox

noun

A slot or box, typically at the front of a house, through which mail is delivered.

letterhead

noun

Printed heading at the top of a sheet of stationery, showing the sender's name, logo, and address.

lettering

noun

Letters or words that have been written, drawn, or printed, especially in a decorative style.

letterman

noun

A student who has reached a set level of involvement in sport or another activity and is given a cloth letter to sew onto their clothing.