: a lateral (see lateralentry 1 sense 2) outgrowth from a plant stem that is typically a flattened expanded variably shaped greenish organ, constitutes a unit of the foliage, and functions primarily in food manufacture by photosynthesis
(2)
: a modified leaf (such as a bract or sepal) primarily engaged in functions other than food manufacture
Noun
I heard the rustle of the autumn leaves.
a pile of dead leaves
The trees drop their leaves in the fall, and new leaves grow again in the spring.
The trees have not yet come into leaf. Verb
we must have spent hours leafing through wallpaper books before we found something we both liked
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Noun
Redensyl pairs larch wood and green tea leaf extracts with amino acids to promote a healthy follicle environment.—
Christa Joanna Lee,
Allure,
28 Aug. 2026 But clearly the city and college have turned over a new leaf.—
Amanda Rosa,
Miami Herald,
28 Aug. 2026
Verb
These emotions are pertinent not only to the plant or leaf itself but also to living matter in its vicinity.—Literary Hub,
20 Aug. 2026 Planting a leafed-out, growing hosta from a pot is identical to any other transplanting process.—
Samantha Johnson,
Martha Stewart,
29 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for leaf
Word History
Etymology
Noun
Middle English leef, from Old English lēaf; akin to Old High German loub leaf
First Known Use
Noun
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)
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