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

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

Cathy Harmon-Christian (l) receives the Georgia Interfaith Public Policy Center's 2025 Carole Maddux Advocate of the Year award from namesake and GIPPC founder, the venerable Carole Maddux. —Zachary Bynum, CBS News, 11 Dec. 2025

The stock, spun off from Western Digita l last February, enters the S & P 500 on Friday. —Scott Schnipper,lisa Kailai Han, CNBC, 28 Nov. 2025

In this time l ask for all of you to pray for her and the family. —Angel Saunders, PEOPLE, 25 Nov. 2025

The 220-guest Four Seasons l will make its debut in 2026 as the first offering from Four Seasons Yachts. —Stacey Zable, USA Today, 30 Oct. 2025

And of course to the fans who l will miss forever. —Noah Camras, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 Oct. 2025

By comparison, the total daily compensation of approximately 750,000 federa l workers furloughed during the shutdown is roughly $400 million, accordi ng to Congressional Budget Office estimates. —Elisabeth Buchwald, CNN Money, 6 Oct. 2025

The organization offers community and l healing services survivors and community re-entry services. —Grace Zokovitch, Boston Herald, 29 Sep. 2025

The thing l couldn’t get used to at first was always feeling someone’s breath on you. —Nicholas Pileggi, Curbed, 15 Aug. 2025

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