Meaning & use
leccy
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Meanings
noununcountableinformalBritish
Electricity, especially the power supplied to a home.
Grammar: No plural and no article a/an; often used with the: the leccy.
Patterns
- the leccy
- pay the leccy
- the leccy bill
We can't watch anything — the leccy's gone off again.
I need to pay the leccy before Friday.
Put the kettle on, but mind the leccy bill.
nouncountableinformalBritish
An electric vehicle or an electric bicycle, in informal use.
Grammar: Can be countable here: a leccy, two leccies.
Patterns
- a leccy
- drive a leccy
She swapped her old car for a leccy.
Half the bikes on that rack are leccies.
Word forms
| plural | leccies |
|---|
Common combinations
- the leccy bill
- The leccy bill doubled this winter.
- pay the leccy
- I forgot to pay the leccy this month.
- the leccy's gone off
- Everything stopped when the leccy went off.
- put the leccy on
- It's freezing — put the leccy on.
Synonyms and how they differ
- electricity
- The standard, neutral word; use it in writing and in most situations.
- power
- Common and neutral, often used for the supply itself: the power went out.
- juice
- Informal American slang for electricity; not used in the same way in Britain.
Word family
- electric adjective
- Working by or producing electricity.
- electrical adjective
- Relating to electricity or its use.
Commonly confused: leccy or leaky?
leccy vs leaky
Leaky means letting liquid escape, as in a leaky roof; leccy is British slang for electricity.
Practice
Which sentence uses leccy in the most natural way?
Choose one answer.
In this meaning leccy is uncountable and usually takes 'the', so 'the leccy's off' is natural. 'A leccy' and 'the leccies' treat it as a countable noun, which does not fit the electricity meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “leccy”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.