leafs

1. 1
   nounnonstandard

   Plural of leaf. Nonstandard; the standard plural is leaves.

   The craftsman applied delicate gold leafs to the carved molding.

   Two extra table leafs let the dining surface seat ten guests.

   Note

   A plural that standard English avoids. The expected form is leaves, and a writer who wants to be safe should use it: gold leaves, table leaves. Where leafs does turn up, it survives chiefly in fixed contexts such as proper names and certain trade uses. Its spelling also matches the verb in "she leafs", so a reader may briefly take the noun for a verb.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of leaf.

   Every Sunday she leafs through the old photo album at the kitchen table.

   The clerk leafs through the ledger until he finds the right entry.

   Note

   Here the verb keeps its f, even though the noun's ordinary plural turns it into v: she leafs through a file, but the trees are full of leaves. The verb behind it does several jobs. A plant leafs when it puts forth foliage, and a cook leafs a cabbage by separating it. In everyday prose it most often pairs with through for the casual turning of pages.

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