Link Centre Dictionary

let

UK/lɛt/ US/ˈlɛt/ very common uk

verb

1.

make it possible through a specific action or lack of action for something to happen

  • “This permits the water to rush in”
  • “This sealed door won”
  • “;”
Synonyms
Antonyms
2.

actively cause something to happen

  • “I let it be known that I was not interested”
3.

consent to, give permission

  • “She permitted her son to visit her estranged husband”
  • “I won”
  • “;”
Antonyms
4.

cause to move; cause to be in a certain position or condition

  • “He got his squad on the ball”
  • “This let me in for a big surprise”
  • “He got a girl into trouble”
Synonyms
5.

leave unchanged

  • “let it be”
6.

grant use or occupation of under a term of contract

  • “I am leasing my country estate to some foreigners”
Synonyms

noun

1.

the most brutal terrorist group active in Kashmir; fights against India with the goal of restoring Islamic rule of India

  • “Lashkar-e-Toiba has committed mass murders of civilian Hindus”
2.

a serve that strikes the net before falling into the receiver''s court; the ball must be served again

Synonyms

Origin

Derived from Middle English leten, læten, from Old English lǣtan (“to allow, let go, bequeath, leave, rent”), from Proto-West Germanic *lātan, from Proto-Germanic *lētaną (“to leave behind, allow”), from Proto-Indo-European *leh₁d- (“to be tired, leave”). Cognates Cognate with Scots lat, lete (“to let, leave”), Yola leth (“let”), North Frisian leet, let, lätje (“to let”), Bavarian låssn (“to let”), Dutch, Low German laten (“to let, leave”), German lassen, laßen (“to let, leave, allow”), Luxembourgish loossen (“to let, leave”), Yiddish לאָזן (lozn, “to let”), Danish lade (“to let, allow, leave”), Faroese, Icelandic láta (“to let”), Norwegian Bokmål la (“to let, leave”), Norwegian Nynorsk la, lata, late (“let, allow”), Swedish låta (“to let, allow, leave”), Gothic 𐌻𐌴𐍄𐌰𐌽 (lētan, “to let”), Albanian lë (“to allow, let, leave”) and partially related to French laisser (“to let”).

Phrases

  • buy to let
  • don't let the bedbugs bite
  • don't let the door hit you on the way out
  • if it's yellow let it mellow
  • let a sleeping dog lie
  • let a thousand flowers bloom
  • let alone
  • let be
  • without let or hindrance

Related words

See also

Related verbs

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.