leave

leave
    n 1: the period of time during which you are absent from work or
         duty; "a ten day's leave to visit his mother" [syn:
         {leave}, {leave of absence}]
    2: permission to do something; "she was granted leave to speak"
    3: the act of departing politely; "he disliked long farewells";
       "he took his leave"; "parting is such sweet sorrow" [syn:
       {farewell}, {leave}, {leave-taking}, {parting}]
    v 1: go away from a place; "At what time does your train
         leave?"; "She didn't leave until midnight"; "The ship
         leaves at midnight" [syn: {leave}, {go forth}, {go away}]
         [ant: {arrive}, {come}, {get}]
    2: go and leave behind, either intentionally or by neglect or
       forgetfulness; "She left a mess when she moved out"; "His
       good luck finally left him"; "her husband left her after 20
       years of marriage"; "she wept thinking she had been left
       behind"
    3: act or be so as to become in a specified state; "The
       inflation left them penniless"; "The president's remarks left
       us speechless"
    4: leave unchanged or undisturbed or refrain from taking; "leave
       it as is"; "leave the young fawn alone"; "leave the flowers
       that you see in the park behind" [syn: {leave}, {leave
       alone}, {leave behind}]
    5: move out of or depart from; "leave the room"; "the fugitive
       has left the country" [syn: {exit}, {go out}, {get out},
       {leave}] [ant: {come in}, {enter}, {get in}, {get into}, {go
       in}, {go into}, {move into}]
    6: make a possibility or provide opportunity for; permit to be
       attainable or cause to remain; "This leaves no room for
       improvement"; "The evidence allows only one conclusion";
       "allow for mistakes"; "leave lots of time for the trip";
       "This procedure provides for lots of leeway" [syn: {leave},
       {allow for}, {allow}, {provide}]
    7: have as a result or residue; "The water left a mark on the
       silk dress"; "Her blood left a stain on the napkin" [syn:
       {leave}, {result}, {lead}]
    8: remove oneself from an association with or participation in;
       "She wants to leave"; "The teenager left home"; "She left her
       position with the Red Cross"; "He left the Senate after two
       terms"; "after 20 years with the same company, she pulled up
       stakes" [syn: {leave}, {depart}, {pull up stakes}]
    9: put into the care or protection of someone; "He left the
       decision to his deputy"; "leave your child the nurse's care"
       [syn: {entrust}, {leave}]
    10: leave or give by will after one's death; "My aunt bequeathed
        me all her jewelry"; "My grandfather left me his entire
        estate" [syn: {bequeath}, {will}, {leave}] [ant:
        {disinherit}, {disown}]
    11: have left or have as a remainder; "That left the four of
        us"; "19 minus 8 leaves 11"
    12: be survived by after one's death; "He left six children";
        "At her death, she left behind her husband and 11 cats"
        [syn: {leave}, {leave behind}]
    13: transmit (knowledge or skills); "give a secret to the
        Russians"; "leave your name and address here"; "impart a new
        skill to the students" [syn: {impart}, {leave}, {give},
        {pass on}]
    14: leave behind unintentionally; "I forgot my umbrella in the
        restaurant"; "I left my keys inside the car and locked the
        doors" [syn: {forget}, {leave}]
    

Leave \Leave\, v. t. [See {Levy}.]
   To raise; to levy. [Obs.]
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         An army strong she leaved.               --Spenser.
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Leave \Leave\, n. [OE. leve, leave, AS. le['a]f; akin to le['o]f
   pleasing, dear, E. lief, D. oorlof leave, G. arlaub, and
   erlauben to permit, Icel. leyfi. [root]124. See {Lief}.]
   1. Liberty granted by which restraint or illegality is
      removed; permission; allowance; license.
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            David earnestly asked leave of me.    --1 Sam. xx.
                                                  6.
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            No friend has leave to bear away the dead. --Dryden.
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   2. The act of leaving or departing; a formal parting; a
      leaving; farewell; adieu; -- used chiefly in the phrase,
      to take leave, i. e., literally, to take permission to go.
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            A double blessing is a'double grace;
            Occasion smiles upon a second leave.  --Shak.
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            And Paul after this tarried there yet a good while,
            and then took his leave of the brethren. --Acts
                                                  xviii. 18.
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   {French leave}. See under {French}.

   Syn: See {Liberty}.
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Leave \Leave\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Leaved}; p. pr. & vb. n.
   {Leaving}]
   To send out leaves; to leaf; -- often with out. --G.
   Fletcher.
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Leave \Leave\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Left} (l[e^]ft); p. pr. &
   vb. n. {Leaving}.] [OE. leven, AS. l?fan, fr. l[=a]f remnant,
   heritage; akin to lifian, libban, to live, orig., to remain;
   cf. bel[imac]fan to remain, G. bleiben, Goth. bileiban.
   [root]119. See {Live}, v.]
   1. To withdraw one's self from; to go away from; to depart
      from; as, to leave the house.
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            Therefore shall a man leave his father and his
            mother, and shall cleave unto his wife. --Gen. ii.
                                                  24.
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   2. To let remain unremoved or undone; to let stay or
      continue, in distinction from what is removed or changed.
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            If grape gatherers come to thee, would they not
            leave some gleaning grapes ?          --Jer. xlix.
                                                  9.
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            These ought ye to have done, and not to leave the
            other undone.                         --Matt. xxiii.
                                                  23.
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            Besides it leaveth a suspicion, as if more might be
            said than is expressed.               --Bacon.
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   3. To cease from; to desist from; to abstain from.
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            Now leave complaining and begin your tea. --Pope.
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   4. To desert; to abandon; to forsake; hence, to give up; to
      relinquish.
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            Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee. --Mark
                                                  x. 28.
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            The heresies that men do leave.       --Shak.
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   5. To let be or do without interference; as, I left him to
      his reflections; I leave my hearers to judge.
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            I will leave you now to your gossiplike humor.
                                                  --Shak.
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   6. To put; to place; to deposit; to deliver; to commit; to
      submit -- with a sense of withdrawing one's self from; as,
      leave your hat in the hall; we left our cards; to leave
      the matter to arbitrators.
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            Leave there thy gift before the altar and go thy
            way.                                  --Matt. v. 24.
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            The foot
            That leaves the print of blood where'er it walks.
                                                  --Shak.
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   7. To have remaining at death; hence, to bequeath; as, he
      left a large estate; he left a good name; he left a legacy
      to his niece.
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   8. to cause to be; -- followed by an adjective or adverb
      describing a state or condition; as, the losses due to
      fire leave me penniless; The cost of defending himself
      left Bill Clinton with a mountain of lawyers' bills.
      [WordNet 1.5]

   {To leave alone}.
      (a) To leave in solitude.
      (b) To desist or refrain from having to do with; as, to
          leave dangerous chemicals alone.

   {To leave off}.
      (a) To desist from; to forbear; to stop; as, to leave off
          work at six o'clock.
      (b) To cease wearing or using; to omit to put in the usual
          position; as, to leave off a garment; to leave off the
          tablecloth.
      (c) To forsake; as, to leave off a bad habit.

   {To leave out}, to omit; as, to leave out a word or name in
      writing.

   {To leave to one's self}, to let (one) be alone; to cease
      caring for (one).

   Syn: Syn>- To quit; depart from; forsake; abandon;
        relinquish; deliver; bequeath; give up; forego; resign;
        surrender; forbear. See {Quit}.
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Leave \Leave\, v. i.
   1. To depart; to set out. [Colloq.]
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            By the time I left for Scotland.      --Carlyle.
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   2. To cease; to desist; to leave off. "He . . . began at the
      eldest, and left at the youngest." --Gen. xliv. 12.
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   {To leave off}, to cease; to desist; to stop.
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            Leave off, and for another summons wait.
                                                  --Roscommon.
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320 Moby Thesaurus words for "leave":
      AWOL, French leave, Godspeed, OK, abandon, abdicate, abrupt,
      abscondence, absence, absence without leave, absentation,
      absenteeism, absenting, abstain from, accord, add a codicil, adieu,
      admission, admit, alienate, allow, allowance, aloha, assign,
      authorization, back out, bar, be getting along, be gone, be off,
      be pensioned, be superannuated, beat it, beg off, bequeath,
      bereave, bud, burgeon, burst forth, buzz off, cast off, cast out,
      cease, cede, charter, check out, come away, commit, conge, consent,
      consign, count out, cry off, cut, cut adrift, cut off, cut out,
      day off, decamp, default, delete, demise, demit, depart,
      depart from, departure, desert, desist, deviate from, devise,
      disappear, disappearance, disarticulate, discard, disconnect,
      discontinue, disengage, disjoin, disjoint, dispensation, dispense,
      disregard, dissociate, disunite, divide, divorce, doch-an-dorrach,
      drop out, eject, eliminate, entail, entrust, escape, estrange,
      evacuate, except, exclude, excused absence, execute a will, exit,
      expel, farewell, fleeing, flit, flourish, fly, forbear, forget,
      forsake, freedom, furlough, gang along, gemmate, germinate,
      get along, get away, get off, get on, get under way, give,
      give leave, give over, give permission, give the go-ahead,
      give the word, give up, go, go along, go away, go back on, go off,
      go on, goldbrick, good-bye, goof off, grant, grow, grow rank,
      hand down, hand on, holiday, hooky, ignore, isolate, jettison,
      jilt, jump, leaf, leaf out, leave behind, leave flat,
      leave loose ends, leave of absence, leave off, leave out,
      leave over, leave undone, leave-taking, leaving, let, let alone,
      let be, let dangle, let go, liberty, license, lose, luxuriate,
      make, make a bequest, make a will, make an exit, make possible,
      malinger, march off, maroon, mislay, miss, mosey, move away,
      move off, move out, neglect, nonappearance, nonattendance, okay,
      omit, orphan, overgrow, overrun, paid holiday, paid vacation, part,
      parting, parting words, pass on, pass over, pass up, patent,
      pension off, permission, permission to enter, permit, pretermit,
      procrastinate, pull away, pull back, pull out, pull up stakes,
      pullulate, push off, put forth, put forth leaves, put out buds,
      quit, quit cold, recess, refrain from, reject, release, relinquish,
      render, renege, renounce, renounce the throne, resign, retire,
      retire from office, retreat, riot, root, run, run off,
      running away, sabbatical, sabbatical leave, sabbatical year,
      sanction, sashay, sashay off, say goodbye to, say the word, scram,
      segregate, send-off, separate, sequester, set apart, set aside,
      set off, shirk, shoot, shoot up, shore leave, shove off, shut off,
      sick leave, skedaddle, skip, slack, special permission, split,
      sprout, sprout up, stagger along, stand aloof, stand apart,
      stand aside, stand down, step aside, stirrup cup, stop,
      strike root, subtract, superannuate, take flight, take leave of,
      take off, take root, take wing, throw off, throw out, throw over,
      ticket, ticket of admission, time off, toddle along, transfer,
      transmit, trifle, truancy, truantism, uncouple, unexcused absence,
      unyoke, up and go, up-anchor, upspear, upsprout, vacate, vacation,
      valediction, valedictorian, valedictory, valedictory address,
      vamoose, vegetate, viaticum, vouchsafe, vouchsafement, waiver,
      weekend, widow, will, will and bequeath, will to, wing it,
      withdraw, withdraw from, yield