left
Other forms: lefts; leftest; lefter
If you are holding a compass and facing north, the direction to the west of you is also to your left. Left is the opposite of "right."
People who are left-handed write with their left hands. and when you take a left turn on your bike, you should signal by holding your left arm straight out to the left. When left is an adjective, it has a completely different meaning: something that's left on the table, or remaining there, will probably be thrown away by your waiter. The Old English root is luft-, "weak," as most right-handed folks are weaker on their left sides.
Definitions of left
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being or located on or directed toward the side of the body to the west when facing north“my left hand”“left center field”“the left bank of a river is bank on your left side when you are facing downstream”
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Synonyms:
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left-handed
using or intended for the left hand
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left-hand
located on or directed toward the left
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leftmost
farthest to the left
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near, nigh
being on the left side
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larboard, port
located on the left side of a ship or aircraft
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Antonyms:
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right
being or located on or directed toward the side of the body to the east when facing north
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right-handed
using or intended for the right hand
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far
being the animal or vehicle on the right or being on the right side of an animal or vehicle
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rightmost
farthest to the right
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right-hand
located on or directed toward the right
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starboard
located on the right side of a ship or aircraft
- show more antonyms...
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left-handed
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intended for the left hand“I rarely lose a left-hand glove”
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synonyms:
left-hand
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left-handed
using or intended for the left hand
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left-handed
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toward or on the left; also used figuratively“he looked right and left”“the political party has moved left”
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Antonyms:
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right
toward or on the right; also used figuratively
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right
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location near or direction toward the left side; i.e. the side to the north when a person or object faces east“she stood on the left”
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Antonyms:
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right
location near or direction toward the right side; i.e. the side to the south when a person or object faces east
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types:
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left stage, stage left
the part of the stage on the actor's left as the actor faces the audience
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right
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a turn toward the side of the body that is on the north when the person is facing east
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the hand that is on the left side of the body
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the piece of ground in the outfield on the catcher's left“the batter flied out to left”
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synonyms:
left field, leftfield
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type of:
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parcel, parcel of land, piece of ground, piece of land, tract
an extended area of land
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parcel, parcel of land, piece of ground, piece of land, tract
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not used up“she had a little money left over so she went to a movie”“some odd dollars left”
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synonyms:
left over, leftover, odd, remaining, unexpended
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unexhausted
not used up completely
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unexhausted
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those who support varying degrees of social or political or economic change designed to promote the public welfare
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of or belonging to the political or intellectual left
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Synonyms:
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socialist, socialistic
advocating or following the socialist principles
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liberal
tolerant of change; not bound by authoritarianism, orthodoxy, or tradition
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far left
radical or extremely liberal
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leftish
tending toward the political left
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left-of-center, left-wing, leftist
believing in or supporting tenets of the political left
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liberal
having political or social views favoring reform and progress
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Antonyms:
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right
of or belonging to the political or intellectual right
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center
of or belonging to neither the right nor the left politically or intellectually
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conservative
resistant to change
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conservative
having social or political views favoring conservatism
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old-line, oldline
adhering to conservative or reactionary principles
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far-right, reactionary, reactionist
extremely conservative
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rightish
tending toward the political right
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right-wing, rightist
believing in or supporting tenets of the political right
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centrist, middle-of-the-road
supporting or pursuing a course of action that is neither liberal nor conservative
- show more antonyms...
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socialist, socialistic
Pronunciation
US
/lɛft/
UK
/lɛft/
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DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘left'.
Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors.
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