/liːs/
OriginFrom Middle English *lesen, from Anglo-Norman *leser, Old French lesser, laisier (“to let, let go”), partly from Latin laxō (“to loose”) and partly from Old High German lāzan (“to let, let go, release”) (German lassen), cognate with Old English lǣtan (“to allow, let go, leave, rent”) whence let.
- formalAn interest in land granting exclusive use or occupation of real estate for a limited period; a leasehold.
- An interest granting exclusive use of any thing, such as a car or boat.
- The contract or deed under which such an interest is granted.
- The document containing such a contract or deed.
- The period of such an interest.
“Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date:”
- The temporary assignment of an IP address to a networked device.
- dialectalAn open pasture or common.
“Since as a child I used to lie
Upon the leaze and watch the sky,
Never, I own, expected I
That life would all be fair.”
- dialectalThe place at which the warp-threads cross on a loom.
- formal, transitiveTo grant a lease as a landlord; to let.
- informal, transitiveTo hold a lease as a tenant; to rent.
“I'm leasing a small apartment in Runcorn for a month while I'm there for work.”
- transitiveTo assign a temporary IP address to (a networked device).
- transitiveTo accept such an assignment of (an IP address).
- dialectal, transitiveTo gather.
- dialectal, transitiveTo pick, select, pick out; to pick up.
- dialectal, transitiveTo glean.
- dialectal, intransitiveTo glean, gather up leavings.
- UK, ambitransitive, dialectalTo tell lies; tell lies about; slander; calumniate.
- UK, dialectal, transitiveTo release; let go; unloose.
Formsleases(plural) · leases(present, singular, third-person) · leasing(participle, present) · leased(participle, past) · leased(past) · leaze(alternative) · leese(alternative, Scotland) · Leases(plural)