📖 L — The English dictionary · page 16

lessen — Everyday, meaning 1: To make something smaller, weaker or less: to lessen pain, noise or danger.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: To become smaller, weaker or less.↗ Example: Wearing a helmet lessens the danger of hurting your head.↗ · The medicine lessened the pain in my tooth.↗ · The rain lessened, so we went outside.↗ · Talking about it lessened my worry.↗ · Planting trees can lessen flooding.↗ · Turn the music down to lessen the noise.↗ · The number of pupils with colds lessened after the holidays.↗ · It thanked the Princess most heartily for her goodness, and said that its sufferings had already been greatly lessened.↗

lesser — Everyday, meaning 1: Lesser means smaller in amount or size: the lesser of two numbers.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: Lesser means less important or not as good: a lesser prize.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: «The lesser of two evils» is the less bad of two bad choices.↗ Everyday, meaning 4: In names of animals and plants, lesser means the smaller kind: the lesser spotted woodpecker.↗ Example: Which is the lesser number, 34 or 43?↗ · Subtract the lesser number from the greater.↗ · The lesser amount is 12.↗ · Choose the lesser of the two prices.↗ · Staying home was the lesser of two evils.↗ · He won a lesser prize at the science fair.↗ · The lesser panda is also called the red panda.↗ · To a lesser degree, the cold also hurt the crops.↗ · There were two festivals of this name, the Lesser and the Greater Panathenaea.↗ · And God made the two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night; and the stars.↗ (Torah GEN.1.16, JPS 1917)↗ · And from the bottom upon the ground to the lower settle shall be two cubits, and the breadth one cubit; and from the lesser settle to the greater settle shall be four cubits, and the breadth a cubit.↗ (Prophets EZK.43.14, JPS 1917)↗

lesson — Everyday, meaning 1: A lesson is a time when you are taught something: a maths lesson.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: A lesson is something you learn from what happens to you.↗ e.g. That taught me a lesson.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: A lesson can be a part of a book or course to study.↗ Example: Today's lesson: Sharing equally.↗ · Today's lesson: Multiplying as equal groups.↗ · Each lesson lasts 40 minutes.↗ · I have a swimming lesson on Saturday.↗ · Our first lesson today is science.↗ · The tortoise and the hare teaches a lesson: slow and steady wins.↗ · I learned my lesson: always save my work.↗ · We have 5 lessons each day.↗ · Oh, I took a lesson from the Ass."↗

lest — Early Modern English, meaning 1: In case; to avoid the risk that something will happen.↗ Example: lest when thou hast eaten and art satisfied, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein;↗ (Torah DEU.8.12, JPS 1917) · Hasten, lest you should be too late!'↗ (The Orange Fairy Book) · But Benjamin, Joseph's brother, Jacob sent not with his brethren; for he said: 'Lest peradventure harm befall him.'↗ (Torah GEN.42.4, JPS 1917)

let — Everyday, meaning 1: To allow someone to do something.↗ e.g. "Mum let me stay up."↗ Everyday, meaning 2: "Let's" (let us) suggests doing something together.↗ e.g. "Let's go!"↗ Everyday, meaning 3: To allow something to move: let go, let in, let out.↗ Everyday, meaning 4: To rent a house or room (British).↗ Early Modern English, meaning 1: To allow someone to do something.↗ Example: Let me help you.↗ · Let's play outside.↗ · Dad let us watch a film.↗ · Let go of the rope slowly.↗ · Please let the dog in.↗ · Don't let me down.↗ · Let x be the number of apples.↗ · Let me know when you are ready.↗ · "Well," says she, "let's see now.↗ · And after that he will let you go.↗ (Torah EXO.3.20, JPS 1917)↗ · Let them go and gather straw for themselves.↗ (Torah EXO.5.7, JPS 1917)↗ · Let peoples serve thee, and nations bow down to thee.↗ (Torah GEN.27.29, JPS 1917)↗ · And let it repent Thee concerning Thy servants.↗ (Writings PSA.90.13, JPS 1917)↗ · Ephraim is joined to idols; let him alone.↗ (Prophets HOS.4.17, JPS 1917)↗ · I pray you, let us leave off this exaction.↗ (Writings NEH.5.10, JPS 1917)↗ · And after that he will let you go.↗ (Torah EXO.3.20, JPS 1917) · "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, Let down your hair."↗ (Grimm's Fairy Stories) · He let the letter Sheen (ש) predominate in primitive fire, crowned it, combined one with the other, and formed by them, heaven in the world, heat in the year, and the head of male and female.↗ (Sefer Yetzirah, Kalisch 1877)

letdown — Everyday, meaning 1: (informal) A letdown is a disappointment, something that was not as good as you hoped.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: (verb phrase) To let someone down is to disappoint them by not doing what you promised.↗ Example: The ending of the film was a real letdown.↗ · After all the waiting, the fireworks were a letdown.↗ · It was a letdown when the trip was cancelled.↗ · Don't let your team down.↗ · The new game was a letdown.↗ · What a letdown — the pool was closed!↗

lethal — Everyday, meaning 1: Lethal means able to kill; deadly.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: (informal) Very dangerous or very effective: «a lethal shot».↗ Example: Some mushrooms are lethal if eaten.↗ · The box jellyfish has a lethal sting.↗ · Carbon monoxide gas can be lethal.↗ · Mixing cleaning products can make lethal fumes.↗ · The striker is lethal in front of goal.↗ · Keep medicines away from small children; some are lethal.↗

lethargy — Everyday, meaning 1: Lethargy is a heavy feeling of having no energy and not wanting to do anything.↗ Example: After the flu, he felt lethargy for days.↗ · Hot weather filled the class with lethargy.↗ · Lethargy can be a sign that you need more sleep.↗ · The vet said the dog's lethargy meant it was ill.↗ · She shook off her lethargy and went for a run.↗ · Too much screen time can lead to lethargy.↗

letter — Everyday, meaning 1: A letter is one of the signs we use to write words, like A, b or Z.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: A letter is a written message you send to someone, usually in an envelope by post.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: In maths, a letter like x or n can stand for an unknown number.↗ Everyday, meaning 4: «To the letter» means exactly as told.↗ Example: The word «apple» has 5 letters.↗ · The mailman delivers 120 letters a day.↗ · She wrote 3 letters to her friends.↗ · Let the letter n stand for the number of apples.↗ · Start every sentence with a capital letter.↗ · The English alphabet has 26 letters.↗ · The school sent a letter home about the trip.↗ · He posted a letter to his grandma in Ireland.↗ · She followed the recipe to the letter.↗ · What a tour that letter had made!↗ · The twenty-two letters which form the stamina (Sefer Yetzirah, Kalisch 1877)↗ · These letters are the initials of the 12 Zodiacal (Sefer Yetzirah, Westcott 1893)↗ · == Chapter 2 == [2:1] There are twenty-two letters, stamina.↗ (Sefer Yetzirah, Kalisch 1877)↗ · And Tobiah sent letters to put me in fear.↗ (Writings NEH.6.19, JPS 1917)↗ · the letter which ye sent unto us hath been plainly read before me.↗ (Writings EZR.4.18, JPS 1917)↗ · And Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the ears of Jeremiah the prophet.↗ (Prophets JER.29.29, JPS 1917)↗

lettest — Early Modern English, meaning 1: «lettest» means «you let», a form of «let»: To allow someone to do something.↗ e.g. "Mum let me stay up."↗ Example: And when thou lettest him go free from thee, thou shalt not let him go empty;↗ (Torah DEU.15.13, JPS 1917)

letteth — Early Modern English, meaning 1: «letteth» means «lets», a form of «let»: To allow someone to do something.↗ e.g. "Mum let me stay up."↗ Example: And he that letteth go the goat for Azazel shall wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he may come into the camp.↗ (Torah LEV.16.26, JPS 1917)

letting — Everyday, meaning 1: Letting means allowing someone to do something.↗ e.g. Mum is letting me stay up late.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: Letting something happen means not stopping it: letting the water run.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: In British English, letting a house or flat means renting it out to someone.↗ Example: Thanks for letting me borrow your pen.↗ · Dad is letting us camp in the garden.↗ · Stop letting the door slam!↗ · She is letting go of the rope.↗ · You are letting the cold air in.↗ · I felt bad about letting my team down.↗ · They are letting the dog off the lead in the park.↗ · Letting the tap run wastes water.↗ · Straight on he strode, letting neither hill nor river hinder him.↗

lettuce — Everyday, meaning 1: A plant with large green leaves that people eat raw, mostly in salads and sandwiches.↗ Example: I like lettuce and tomato in my sandwich.↗ · Wash the lettuce before you make the salad.↗ · We grew lettuce in the school garden.↗ · Rabbits love to nibble lettuce.↗ · Mum bought two lettuces at the market.↗ · Slugs ate holes in our lettuce leaves.↗ · A burger with cheese, lettuce and pickles, please.↗ · First he ate some lettuces and some French beans; and then he ate some radishes;↗

leukaemia — Everyday, meaning 1: Leukaemia is a kind of cancer of the blood and bone marrow, where the body makes too many faulty white blood cells.↗ Example: My cousin had leukaemia and got better after treatment.↗ · Leukaemia affects the white blood cells.↗ · Doctors treat leukaemia with medicines called chemotherapy.↗ · Our school raised money for leukaemia research.↗ · You cannot catch leukaemia from someone.↗

lev — Everyday, meaning 1: (money) The money of Bulgaria; one lev is divided into 100 stotinki.↗ Plural: leva.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: (Ukrainian, Russian «лев») The word for «lion»; it sounds like «lev» to an English ear.↗ It is not an English word.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: (a name) Lev is a man's first name, as in the Russian writer Lev (Leo) Tolstoy, and a Hebrew name meaning «heart».↗ Example: The lev is the money of Bulgaria.↗ · The ice cream cost three leva.↗ · One lev is 100 stotinki.↗ · Lev Tolstoy wrote very long novels.↗ · «Lev» means «lion» in Ukrainian.↗ · In our maths problem, we changed pounds into Bulgarian leva.↗ · In the Bahir, the Thirty-Two Ways are associated with the gematria value of לֵב lev ‘heart’ ([Bahir 63], [Bahir 95] inter alia cf.↗ (Sefer Yetzirah, Sefaria community translation)↗

levant — Everyday, meaning 1: The Levant is an old name for the lands on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea, today mainly Lebanon, Syria, Israel, Palestine and Jordan, and sometimes Cyprus and parts of Turkey.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: (old slang, UK, rare) To levant was to run away without paying your debts.↗ Example: The Phoenicians were sailors from the Levant.↗ · Crusader castles still stand in the Levant.↗ · Hummus is popular all over the Levant.↗ · Merchants brought spices through the ports of the Levant.↗ · Lebanon and Syria are countries of the Levant.↗ · The Levant lies on the eastern edge of the Mediterranean.↗

level — Everyday, meaning 1: A level is a height or amount: the water level, the noise level.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: A level is a stage or grade, as in a game or a test: «I reached level 5».↗ Everyday, meaning 3: A level is a floor of a building: «Park on level 2».↗ Everyday, meaning 4: Level (adjective) means flat and even, with no part higher than another.↗ Everyday, meaning 5: Level can mean equal in score or position.↗ Everyday, meaning 6: To level something is to make it flat.↗ Everyday, meaning 7: To level a gun or pistol is to point it straight at something.↗ Example: The water level in the river rose after the rain.↗ · I finished level 10 of the game.↗ · Our flat is on level 3.↗ · Make sure the table is level before you build the tower.↗ · The score was level at half-time.↗ · Mount Everest is about 8,849 metres above sea level.↗ · Keep the noise level down in the library.↗ · Hold the picture at eye level.↗ · "Level your pistols!" cried Jack, "and make smithereens of 'em.↗ · And on yet another level, it refers to the physical body, the primary metaphorical sense in which the term is encountered in the SY.↗ (Sefer Yetzirah, Sefaria community translation)↗ · On one level, it refers to the individual person or creature, i.e., ‘that which has breath’, similar to the term נְשָׁמָה neshamah (cf.↗ [Psalm 150:6]), and might be translated ‘person, individual, being’.↗ (Sefer Yetzirah, Sefaria community translation)↗ · It should probably be understood on one level as a reference to the ten digits of the decimal numeral system, though as we shall see, these Sefirot Belimah are imbued with metaphysical significance beyond mere numerals.↗ (Sefer Yetzirah, Sefaria community translation)↗ · He levelled a path for His anger; He spared not their soul from death, but gave their life over to the pestilence; (Writings PSA.78.50, JPS 1917)↗ · Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill shall be made low; and the rugged shall be made level, and the rough places a plain; (Prophets ISA.40.4, JPS 1917)↗ · I have roused him up in victory, and I make level all his ways; he shall build My city, and he shall let Mine exiles go free, not for price nor reward, saith the LORD of hosts.↗ (Prophets ISA.45.13, JPS 1917)↗

lever — Everyday, meaning 1: A lever is a bar or handle that moves around a fixed point (the pivot or fulcrum) to help lift or move something heavy with less effort.↗ Everyday, meaning 2: A lever is a handle you push or pull to work a machine: a gear lever.↗ Everyday, meaning 3: To lever something is to move or open it using a lever: lever off a lid.↗ Example: A seesaw is a kind of lever.↗ · Use a spoon as a lever to open the paint tin.↗ · Pull the lever to start the machine.↗ · Scissors are two levers joined together.↗ · The longer the lever, the easier it is to lift the load.↗ · She levered the lid off the box.↗ · The pivot is the point a lever turns around.↗ · The driver moved the gear lever.↗