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leash

noun · verb

Simple meaning

A strap, cord or rope with which to restrain an animal, often a dog.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

leesh
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈliʃ

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. A strap, cord or rope with which to restrain an animal, often a dog.

  2. Restraint consisting of a rope (or light chain) used to restrain an animal

  3. A string with a loop at the end for lifting warp threads, in a loom.

verb

  1. Fasten with a rope

  2. figuratively

    To curb, restrain

  3. To fasten or secure with a leash.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
C1 · Advanced (estimated)
Frequency
Uncommon
Formality
Technical

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: A strap, cord or rope with which to restrain an animal, often a dog.

Used this way, leash is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Nearby words

  • rope , a specialist term, precise but narrower

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

short leashtight leashlong leashdog leashleash lawsleather leashfoot leash

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Related Words

Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: strap or cord

leadropeTechnical

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.