Meaning & use
leaves
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“leaves” is a form of “leaf”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
nounplural
The flat, usually green parts of a plant that grow from stems or branches and make food from sunlight.
Grammar: Plural of leaf: the leaves are green.
Patterns
- leaves on something
The leaves turn red and gold in autumn.
Rake the fallen leaves off the lawn.
Bugs had eaten holes in the cabbage leaves.
nounplural
Thin sheets of paper in a book, or very thin layers of metal.
Grammar: Plural of leaf in these senses.
Patterns
- leaves of something
The leaves of the old book were yellowed.
He pressed gold leaves onto the picture frame.
She turned the leaves slowly, looking for the page.
verbtransitive or intransitive
Goes away from a place, person or situation; the third person singular of leave.
Grammar: Used with he, she or it: she leaves at nine.
Patterns
- someone leaves somewhere
- someone leaves something
The train leaves at noon.
She leaves her bike by the gate every morning.
Maria leaves a note for the cleaner each week.
nounpluralformal
Periods of time away from work, especially official permission to be absent.
Grammar: Plural of leave in this sense: annual leaves.
Patterns
- leaves of absence
Several employees took extended leaves of absence.
The soldiers' leaves were canceled during the emergency.
Parental leaves differ greatly between countries.
Common combinations
- fallen leaves
- Fallen leaves covered the path.
- green leaves
- The salad had crisp green leaves.
- tea leaves
- The shop sold loose tea leaves.
- turn over a new leaf
- After the argument he promised to turn over a new leaf.
- leaves the house
- He leaves the house at seven every day.
Synonyms and how they differ
- foliage
- Foliage is a collective word for all the leaves of a plant, and it is more formal than leaves.
- departs
- Departs is the formal choice for leaves as a verb and is common for trains and flights.
- pages
- Pages is the usual word for the sheets of a book, whereas leaves sounds older and literary.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: leaves or leafs? leaves or lives?
leaves vs leafs
Leafs is wrong as the plural of the plant noun, which is leaves; Leafs appears only in a team name.
leaves vs lives
Lives is a different word: the plural of life or the verb live.
Practice
The bus ___ from the station every half hour.
Choose one answer.
Leaves is the third person singular verb that agrees with the bus. Leave is tempting but fits plural subjects.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “leaves”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.