leafnoun [ C ]
uk/liːf/us/liːf/plural leavesleaf noun [ C ] (PLANT)
B1 one of the flat, usually green parts of a plant that are joined at one end to the stem or branch:
a palm leaf
autumn leaves
He was raking up leaves in his garden.
be in leaf/come into leaf
When a plant is in leaf or when it comes into leaf, it has or gets leaves on it:
The trees are in leaf early this year.
The bushes are just coming into leaf.
More examples
- The leaves on the trees have started to turn a rich coppery colour.
- Rubbing a dock leaf on nettle stings helps to relieve the pain.
- Notice that the leaf of this plant has ragged edges.
- Emily scraped away the dead leaves to reveal the tiny shoot of a new plant.
- The bush looked badly diseased, with black marks on all the leaves.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Parts of plants
- aerial root
- bud
- cambium
- cane
- corm
- cotyledon
- fig leaf
- frond
- lamina
- leafless
- lily pad
- meristem
- micropyle
- nectary
- needle
- rootstock
- testa
- the treetops
- trunk
- twig
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leaf noun [ C ] (PAPER)
a thin sheet of paper
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Publishing: paper & stationery
- A3
- A5
- acid-free
- assembler
- ballpoint pen
- grammage
- graph paper
- headed notepaper
- highlighter
- jotter
- keypad
- pencil
- qwerty
- ream
- rice paper
- rough paper
- scrap paper
- slate
- tissue
- watermark
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leaf noun [ C ] (TABLE)
an extra part of a table that can be folded away when not being used
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Tables & desks
- bedside table
- bench
- benchtop
- bureau
- card table
- coffee table
- desk
- desktop
- drafting table
- dressing table
- drop-leaf table
- high table
- kitchen counter
- table
- the dinner table
- trestle
- trestle table
- vanity
- washstand
- writing desk
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Idiom(s)
take a leaf out of sb's book