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leather

leathers; leathered; leathering

Leather is a material that's made from animal skin and used to make shoes, bags, furniture covers, and many other things. You might be too hot if you wear your leather pants to the beach.

Most expensive, well-made shoes are made of leather — although it's pliable and easy to shape, it's also extremely strong and long-lasting. To make leather, the skin of an animal is stripped of all fur or hair, and then tanned, or treated to keep it from cracking and drying. The leather collars on early US Marines' uniforms led to their nickname being "leathernecks."

Definitions of leather
  1. noun
    an animal skin made smooth and flexible by removing the hair and then tanning
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    types:
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    piece of leather
    a separate part consisting of leather
    grain
    the side of leather from which the hair has been removed
    alligator
    leather made from alligator's hide
    buckskin
    a soft yellowish suede leather originally from deerskin but now usually from sheepskin
    buff
    a soft thick undyed leather from the skins of e.g. buffalo or oxen
    ooze leather
    a very soft leather made from the skins of calves and having a suede finish on the flesh side
    Russia leather
    a smooth leather tanned with willow, birch, or oak, and scented on the flesh side with birch oil
    calf, calfskin
    fine leather from the skin of a calf
    whit leather, white leather
    a leather that has been treated with alum and/or salt
    chammy, chammy leather, chamois, chamois leather, shammy, shammy leather
    a soft suede leather formerly from the skin of the chamois antelope but now from sheepskin
    cordovan
    a fine leather originally made in Cordoba, Spain
    cowhide, cowskin
    leather made from the hide of a cow
    crush, crushed leather
    leather that has had its grain pattern accentuated
    deerskin
    leather from the hide of a deer
    doeskin
    soft leather from deerskin or lambskin
    glove leather
    leather suitable for making gloves
    horsehide
    leather from the hide of a horse
    kid, kidskin
    soft smooth leather from the hide of a young goat
    mocha
    soft suede glove leather from goatskin
    morocco
    a soft pebble-grained leather made from goatskin; used for shoes and book bindings etc.
    patent leather
    leather with a hard glossy surface
    pigskin
    leather from the skin of swine
    fleece, sheepskin
    tanned skin of a sheep with the fleece left on; used for clothing
    shoe leather
    leather used to make shoes
    suede, suede leather
    leather with a napped surface
    roan
    a soft sheepskin leather that is colored and finished to resemble morocco; used in bookbinding
    counter, heel counter
    a piece of leather forming the back of a shoe or boot
    quarter
    piece of leather that comprises the part of a shoe or boot covering the heel and joining the vamp
    saddle
    a piece of leather across the instep of a shoe
    upper
    piece of leather or synthetic material that forms the part of a shoe or boot above the sole that encases the foot
    vamp
    piece of leather forming the front part of the upper of a shoe
    wash leather
    piece of chamois used for cleaning and polishing
    Levant, Levant morocco
    a heavy morocco often used in bookbinding
    Golden Fleece
    in Greek mythology, a fleece of gold owned by the king of Colchis and guarded in a sacred grove by a dragon; recovered by Jason and the Argonauts
    box calf
    black calfskin leather tanned with chromium salts
    type of:
    animal skin
    the outer covering of an animal
  2. verb
    whip with a leather strap
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    type of:
    flog, lash, lather, slash, strap, trounce, welt, whip
    beat severely with a whip or rod
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘leather'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback
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