left
adjective
\ ˈleft
\
\
Definition of left
(Entry 1 of 3)
1a
: of, relating to, situated on, or being the side of the body in which the heart is mostly located
her left leg
b
: done with the left hand
a left hook to the jaw
c
: located nearer to the left hand than to the right
a man's left chest
d(1)
: located on the left of an observer facing in the same direction as the object specified
stage left the left arm of a chair
(2)
: located on the left when facing downstream
the left bank of a river
2
often capitalized
: of, adhering to, or constituted by the left especially in politics
this left government with a cabinet of moderate liberals— F. A. Magruder
left
nounDefinition of left (Entry 2 of 3)
1a
: the left hand
b
: the location or direction of the left side
c
: the part on the left side
d
: a turn to the left
take a left at the intersection
2a
: left field
b
: a blow struck with the left fist
3 often capitalized
a
: the part of a legislative chamber located to the left of the presiding officer
b
: the members of a continental European legislative body occupying the left as a result of holding more radical political views than other members
4 often capitalized
a
: those professing views usually characterized by desire to reform or overthrow the established order especially in politics and usually advocating change in the name of the greater freedom or well-being of the common man
b
: a radical as distinguished from a conservative position
left
Definition of left (Entry 3 of 3)
past tense and past participle of leave
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Other Words from left
Adjective
left
adverb
Noun
leftmost
\ ˈleft-ˌmōst
\
adjective
\
adjective
Synonyms & Antonyms for left
Synonyms: Noun
left wing, leftism, liberalism
Antonyms: Noun
conservatism, illiberalism, immobilism, right
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Examples of left in a Sentence
Adjective
He felt a pain in his left side. He hit him with a left hook to the jaw. the left side of the streetNoun
We read from left to right. You'll take two lefts and then a right. He hit him with two quick lefts to the stomach followed by a right to the jaw.
Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective
Robin is the rare left-wing observer who takes Thomas’s political and legal mind seriously. — Theodore Kupfer, National Review, "The Not So Enigmatic Clarence Thomas," 22 Aug. 2019 Their argument, in a nutshell: —A fuzzy commitment to multiple stakeholders could undermine financial discipline; and —The move won’t appease left-wing politicians like Elizabeth Warren. — David Meyer, Fortune, "End of Shareholder Primacy, Part III: CEO Daily," 21 Aug. 2019 Some of the downtown’s largest retailers —from Starbucks to Nordstrom to the Portland Apple Store — closed in anticipation of right- and left-wing groups converging on the waterfront. — oregonlive.com, "Portland’s Proud Boys, antifa protests cost downtown biz $3M, group says," 21 Aug. 2019 THE ODD COUPLE Earlier this month, the League failed to win support in the Senate for a confidence motion against Conte when the 5-Stars joined forces with the opposition Democratic Party and smaller left-wing groups to block it. — Washington Post, "What to expect as Italy’s looks to a new government," 20 Aug. 2019 For many years, he was institutionally embattled, at least partly because of his left-wing politics. — Louis Menand, The New Yorker, "How Cultural Anthropologists Redefined Humanity," 19 Aug. 2019 Police saw bruises, swelling, and redness around the woman’s ears and bruises on the left side of her neck that appeared to be from the pressure of three fingers, according to the statement. — Mary Grace Keller, baltimoresun.com/maryland/carroll, "Hampstead man charged with assault for allegedly choking woman," 19 Aug. 2019 Putting aside any pretense toward nuance or complexity, the paper has surrendered to the sensibility of left-wing political activists. — J. Brian Charles, Vox, "What the conservative critics of the New York Times’s 1619 Project miss.," 18 Aug. 2019 The payoff came when Watson threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Hopkins on the left side. — John Mcclain, Houston Chronicle, "Texans take down Lions in preseason game," 17 Aug. 2019Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
The second score came on a first-and-20 play with less than a second left in the first quarter. — Ben Thomas | Bthomas@al.com, al, "Florala converts 2 second-half turnovers into 36-34 victory over St. Michael in opener," 22 Aug. 2019 What’s clearer are the tactical implications for the left. — Matt Ford, The New Republic, "Conservative Judges Are Brawling Over Originalism," 22 Aug. 2019 Okay so in this picture there are 4 palm trees on the left (4 country albums). — Diane J. Cho, PEOPLE.com, "The Most Viral Moments from the 2019 VMA Nominees," 22 Aug. 2019 Acing Manji Alley means drifting through a slalom-like course, hitting targets on the right and the left with the car’s tail. — Alex Davies, WIRED, "Netflix's Hyperdrive Is American Ninja Warrior for Cars," 21 Aug. 2019 With the sound of sirens in the distance, Clay gets Tyler to leave in Tony’s (Christian Navarro) car, but Clay is the one left holding the assault rifle as Justin (Brandon Flynn) and Jessica (Alisha Boe) stand with him in shock. — Sydney Bucksbaum, EW.com, "Everything to remember about 13 Reasons Why before season 3," 21 Aug. 2019 Thus ensued a long and complicated process of trying to form a government, in which neither the left nor the right could do so without the support of the Five Star Movement. — Jen Kirby, Vox, "Italy’s prime minister just resigned. What the heck comes next?," 21 Aug. 2019 Joseph pushed a 53-yarder wide right and Seibert sailed a 52-yarder wide left. — Mary Kay Cabot, cleveland.com, "Freddie Kitchens on Greg Joseph and Austin Seibert: ‘We’re not looking to replace them right now’," 19 Aug. 2019 Security experts say restricting weapons, ammunition and putting aside privacy concerns may be the most crucial prevention tactics to such attacks, and that may make those on the right and left of the political spectrum unhappy. — Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, "Can we make Walmarts and other public spaces safer? Mass shootings show vulnerable ‘soft targets’," 6 Aug. 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'left.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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