leaf

[[t]li͟ːf[/t]]

♦♦♦

leaves, leafs, leafing, leafed

1) N-COUNT: usu pl, also in/into N The leaves of a tree or plant are the parts that are flat, thin, and usually green. Many trees and plants lose their leaves in the winter and grow new leaves in the spring.

→ See also -leaved

In the garden, the leaves of the horse chestnut had already fallen...

The Japanese maple that stands across the drive had just come into leaf.

2) N-COUNT A leaf is one of the pieces of paper of which a book is made.

He flattened the wrappers and put them between the leaves of his book.

Syn:

page

3) PHRASE: V inflects If you take a leaf from someone's book you behave in the same way as them because you want to be like that person or as successful as they are.

Maybe we should take a leaf out of Branson's book. It's easy to see how he became a billionaire...

4) PHRASE: V inflects If you say that you are going to turn over a new leaf, you mean that you are going to start to behave in a better or more acceptable way.

He realized he was in the wrong and promised to turn over a new leaf.

5) PHRASE: V inflects If you say that someone is shaking like a leaf, you mean that their body is shaking a lot, for instance because they are very cold or frightened.

I didn't think about the danger at the time. Afterwards I was shaking like a leaf.

Phrasal Verbs:

- leaf through