Meaning & use
leave
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Meanings
verbtransitive or intransitive
To go away from a person or place.
Grammar: With an object, no preposition: leave the room.
Patterns
- leave a place
- leave for somewhere
We leave for Paris tomorrow morning.
She left the room without a word.
The train leaves at noon.
verbtransitive
To let something stay where it is, often on purpose or by accident.
Grammar: Takes an object and often a place or state.
Patterns
- leave something somewhere
- leave something open
Don't leave your bag on the bus.
He left the door open.
Leave the dishes; I'll wash them later.
verbtransitive or intransitive
To stop belonging to a group, school or job.
Grammar: Used for jobs, schools and organizations.
Patterns
- leave a job
- leave school
She left her job after ten years.
Many students leave school at eighteen.
He left the club last year.
verbtransitive
To give something to someone after you die.
Grammar: Often with two objects: leave someone something.
Patterns
- leave something to someone
- leave someone something
He left his collection to the museum.
She left her niece a small house.
They left nothing but debts.
noununcountable
Official permission to be away from work or duty, or the time spent away.
Grammar: Often 'on leave' or 'annual leave'.
Patterns
- on leave
- take leave
She is on maternity leave until June.
He took a week's leave to travel.
Soldiers on leave returned home.
Word forms
| third person singular | leaves |
|---|---|
| past tense | left |
| past participle | left |
| -ing form | leaving |
Common combinations
- leave home
- He left home at eighteen.
- leave a message
- Please leave a message after the tone.
- leave behind
- She left her umbrella behind.
- leave alone
- Leave the dog alone; it's sleeping.
- on leave
- The manager is on leave this week.
- leave out
- They left out the last paragraph.
Synonyms and how they differ
- depart
- Depart is more formal and used for trains, planes and journeys.
- quit
- Quit means to stop or give up, often a job, and is more abrupt.
- abandon
- Abandon means leaving completely and often cruelly.
- exit
- Exit is formal or technical and focuses on going out of a place.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: leave or let? leave or live?
leave vs let
Leave means go away or stay behind, while let means allow.
leave vs live
Live /lɪv/ is to be alive or reside, not to go away.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'leave' to mean 'cause to remain behind'?
Choose one answer.
Only the second sentence is about letting an object stay in a place. The others are about departing.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “leave”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.