Link Centre Dictionary

leash

UK/liːʃ/ US/ˈliʃ/ fairly common
noun (3) verb (1)

noun

1.

restraint consisting of a rope (or light chain) used to restrain an animal

Synonyms
2.
3.

a figurative restraint

  • “asked for a collar on program trading in the stock market”
  • “kept a tight leash on his emotions”
  • “he”
Synonyms

verb

1.

fasten with a rope

  • “rope the bag securely”
Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English leesshe, leysche, lesshe, a variant of more original lease, from Middle English lees, leese, leece, lese, from Old French lesse (modern French laisse), either from Latin laxa, feminine form of laxus (“loose”) or, more probably, from a deverbal of Old French lesser, laissier, from Latin laxāre (“loose”); compare lax. Doublet of laisse.

Phrases

  • in leash
  • on a tight leash
  • short leash
  • strain at the leash
  • traffic leash
  • urinary leash

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

See also

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.