left

Plurallefts

1. 1
   verb

   Simple past and past participle of leave.

   He left the company after fifteen years.

   The train left the station right on time.

   Note

   A different word from the left of the body, sharing only its spelling. It comes from Old English lǣfed, past participle of lǣfan, "to leave", by way of Middle English laft. The participle often works like an adjective meaning "remaining" and follows its noun or the verb be: not much food left, what was left of his temper. Source

   Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

   • The past form of leave has a separate origin from bodily left. en.wiktionary.org
   • The participle is lǣfed, also ġelǣfed; lǣfan means “to leave”. en.wiktionary.org
   • The word developed through Middle English laft. en.wiktionary.org
2. 2
   side (which one)adjective

   On, toward, or relating to the side opposite the right; a river's left bank is the one on the left when facing downstream.

   The patient reported numbness in her left foot.

   He always parts his hair on the left side.

   UsageBefore a noun: my left hand. For where something is, say on the left or on your left.

   Oppositeright

3. 3
   adjective

   Still present or available once everything else has been used or has gone, placed after the noun it describes.

   By the time we booked, the only seats left were in the back row.

   She spent the money left from her paycheck on a new pair of running shoes.

   UsageCommon with have or there is: we have two seats left, there's no milk left. Before a noun, use leftover.

   Similarremaining, available

   Note

   This left has nothing to do with direction: it is the past participle of leave working as an adjective, naming what has been left behind. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

   • Left meaning ‘remaining’ derives from the past participle of leave, separately from directional left. en.wiktionary.org
4. 4
   noun

   The side or direction opposite the right, toward the west when one faces north.

   Keep to the left as you enter the building.

   Her seat was the second one from the left.

   UsageWith the: on the left, to the left, second from the left.

   Similarport

   Oppositeright, starboard

5. 5
   adverb

   On or toward the left side.

   The kitchen sits left of the main hallway.

   His office is just left of the elevator.

   UsageAfter a verb (turn left, look left) or in left of + noun (left of the door).

   Oppositeright

6. 6
   progressive campnoun

   Political parties on the left of the spectrum, together with the people who hold their views, considered collectively.

   The left mobilized voters across the country.

   Divisions within the left weakened its campaign.

   UsageWith the, often with a capital: the Left.

   Oppositeright

   Note

   The name goes back to France in 1789, when supporters of the Revolution sat on the president's left in the National Assembly and defenders of the old order sat on his right. Because it shares its spelling with the past tense of leave, it invites wordplay, as in "The Left left workers behind." Read aloud, only word order tells the noun from the verb. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

   • The political name originated in France in 1789 from National Assembly seating: revolutionaries on the president's left and supporters of the old order on his right. en.wikipedia.org
7. 7
   political (liberal)adjective

   Relating to or characteristic of the political left; left-wing in orientation.

   The newspaper is known for its left editorial stance.

   Several left parties formed a coalition after the vote.

   Similarleft-wing, leftist, progressive

   Oppositeright

   Note

   In politics the bare adjective stands before a noun much as left-wing does. Hayek in 1949 scorns "any left journalist". George Orwell, in The Lion and the Unicorn (1941), writes it with a capital and inverted commas: no intelligentsia that is not in some sense "Left". That capital still marks it as a party label rather than a direction. Its opposite is right. Source

   Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

   • Hayek's quoted passage was published in 1949. chicagounbound.uchicago.edu
   • Hayek uses the disparaging phrase "any left journalist". fee.org
   • George Orwell wrote The Lion and the Unicorn, first published in 1941. openlibrary.org

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