leaflet

/ˈliflɪt/

/ˈliflət/

Other forms: leaflets

A paper advertisement or a folded brochure is called a leaflet. To spread the word that your band is playing tonight, you could hand out leaflets.

Most leaflets are free, part of their purpose being to attract an audience or customers, or to spread specific information or propaganda. You can also use this word to mean "small section of a leaf," particularly on a "compound leaf," which is made up of several leaflets, like the leaf of the ash tree. This botanical meaning is the original one — the "pamphlet" meaning arose in the 1800s, from leaf, or "page of a book."

Definitions of leaflet

1. noun

   a small book usually having a paper cover
   synonyms: booklet, brochure, folder, pamphlet

   types:

   blue book

   a blue booklet used in universities for writing examinations

   ticket book

   a book of tickets that can be torn out and used

   type of:

   book

   a written work or composition that has been published (printed on pages bound together)
2. noun

   part of a compound leaf
   types:

   pinna, pinnule

   division of a usually pinnately divided leaf

   type of:

   foliage, leaf, leafage

   the main organ of photosynthesis and transpiration in higher plants
3. noun

   a thin triangular flap of a heart valve
   synonyms: cusp

   type of:

   flap

   a movable piece of tissue partly connected to the body