l

1 of 4

noun

ˈel 

variants often L

plural l's or ls ˈelz 

often attributive

1

a

: the 12th letter of the English alphabet

b

: a graphic representation of this letter

c

: a speech counterpart of orthographic l

2

: fifty see Table of Numbers

3

: a graphic device for reproducing the letter l

4

: one designated l especially as the 12th in order or class

5

: something shaped like the letter L

specifically : ell entry 2 sense 1

6

: el entry 2

l

2 of 4

abbreviation (1)

1

lady

2

lake

3

lambert

4

land

5

large

6

late

7

left

8

length

9

[Latin libra] pound

10

line

11

liquid

12

lira

13

liter

14

little

15

low

L

3 of 4

abbreviation (2)

1

Lagrangian

2

long

3

loss; losses

l-

4 of 4

prefix

1

ˌlē-(ˌ)vō, 

ˌel, 

ˈel

: levorotatory

l-tartaric acid

2

ˌel, 

ˈel

: having a similar configuration at a selected carbon atom to the configuration of levorotatory glyceraldehyde

—usually printed as a small capital

l-fructose

Did you know?

Words Starting With L

Browse 11,988 words and phrases that start with the letter L, from la to lytic.

Examples of l in a Sentence

Noun

a word that starts with an l

a word that starts with l

Abbreviation (1)

The area of a rectangle is L x W.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Bill Pulte, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) (L), and Jay Clayton, US attorney for the Southern District of New York (SDNY). —Garrett Downs, CNBC, 17 June 2026

Husband and wife Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Hilarie Burton Morgan bring their kids Augustus Morgan (l) and George Virginia Morgan as their dates to the Opening Ceremony during the 65th Monte-Carlo Television Festival in Monaco, on June 12. —Brendan Le, PEOPLE, 16 June 2026

In peripheral l prizes, Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die won the youth jury award, the Cariddino d’Oro, while Guido Chiesa’s Piccolo Miracolo was given a Cariddino special mention. —Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 14 June 2026

The Mini comes climate controlled via a Webasto diesel heater and an air conditioner, carries a large 200-L fresh water tank, and has prewiring for a TV and multimedia equipment. —New Atlas, 14 June 2026

The industry’s amplifiers were optimized for C-band (and later L-band). —Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 13 June 2026

The 2nd Street Station on the L (Market-Frankford Line) also got a new headhouse, and Fern Rock Transit Center and the Regional Rail stations have received lighting improvements and fresh coats of paint. —Joe Brandt, CBS News, 10 June 2026

The designs in this collection are luxe with a capital L, so the fabrics are, of course, equally as top-tier. —Katie Decker-Jacoby, StyleCaster, 10 June 2026

For this review, Secretlab sent me the L-size premium Atlas in Dune. —Will Greenwald, PC Magazine, 9 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

Prefix

International Scientific Vocabulary, from lev-

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

l

noun

ˈel

often capitalized

1

: the 12th letter of the English alphabet

2

: fifty in Roman numerals

Medical Definition

L

1 of 3 abbreviation

1

left

2

levorotatory

3

light

4

liquid

5

liter

6

lumbar

—used especially with a number from 1 to 5 to indicate a vertebra or segment of the spinal cord in the lumbar region

L

2 of 3 symbol

lithium

l-

3 of 3 prefix

1

ˌlē-(ˌ)vō, ˌel, ˈel

: levorotatory

—usually printed in italic

l-tartaric acid

2

ˌel, ˈel

: having a similar configuration at a selected carbon atom to the configuration of levorotatory glyceraldehyde

—usually printed as a small capital

L-fructose

L-tryptophan