leeway

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noun lee·way \ ˈlē-ˌwā \

Definition of leeway

1 a :off-course lateral movement of a ship when under way

The sailboat's centerboard helps to reduce leeway.

b :the angle between the heading and the track of an airplane

2 :an allowable margin of freedom or variation :tolerance

The new rules allow managers greater leeway in making decisions.

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Examples of leeway in a Sentence

They give their students leeway to try new things.
you will be given some leeway in choosing how to carry out the project

Recent Examples of leeway from the Web

Limiting Leeway Even though the U.S. Constitution and tradition give the president leeway on international affairs, Congress increasingly has sought to limit Trump’s ability to make unilateral decisions over Russia policy.

— bill faries, Bloomberg.com, "Trump Wish for Russian Detente Dies as Putin Expels Diplomats," 28 July 2017
At the same time, the long ramp-up gives Census officials some leeway in scheduling the iterative tests needed to ensure the seamless integration of individual systems and operations.

— jeffrey mervis, Science | AAAS, "Money, politics, and abandoned homes: Why the 2020 Census might be in jeopardy," 24 July 2017
Shanghai’s commercial SOEs have more leeway to hire managers from the private sector and to pay market rates.

— The Economist, "Reform of China’s ailing state-owned firms is emboldening them," 20 July 2017
The FAA doesn’t specify a hard deadline for getting an aircraft operational but gives airport managers the leeway to boot tenants in favor of someone with an immediate need.

— matthew jancer, Car and Driver, "Need More Parking? How to Make an Airport Hangar Your Garage," 3 July 2017
Pedro Zayas, a spokesman for the Hartford school system, said district leaders believe the clause in Capital Prep's operations plan gave the school some leeway — but only if there were humanitarian or other exceptional reasons.

— matthew kauffman, courant.com, "Capital Prep Met State Integration Rule By Picking White Students Outside Lottery," 30 June 2017
But the problem with these definitions is the broad language and leeway for officer interpretation, which allows officers a special subjective latitude over what force is considered excessive.

— lincoln blades, Teen Vogue, "Outrage Over Police Brutality Shouldn't Require a Dead, Unarmed Body," 28 June 2017
The council, in a 4-3 vote, rejected a salary amendment from Snyder that would have given him wide leeway on paying workers and would have reorganized the parks department.

— michael gonzalez, Post-Tribune, "Portage mayor, council remain at odds over salary ordinance," 23 June 2017
Army Gen. John Nicholson, commander of U.S. and allied forces in Afghanistan, should also receive greater leeway in the use of U.S. and NATO air power.

— david petraeus, WSJ, "Getting an Edge in the Long Afghan Struggle," 22 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'leeway.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of leeway

1669

leeway Synonyms

Synonyms

latitude, slack, space, wiggle room

Related Words

license (or licence), rein, swing

Other Aeronautics/Aerospace Terms

airway, apron, corridor, dirigible, fishtail, flat-hat, vector

LEEWAY Defined for English Language Learners

leeway

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noun

Definition of leeway for English Language Learners

: freedom to do something the way you want to do it

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See words that rhyme with leeway Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for leeway Spanish Central: Translation of leeway Nglish: Translation of leeway for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of leeway for Arabic speakers

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leeway

Definition of leeway

Examples of leeway in a Sentence

Recent Examples of leeway from the Web

First Known Use of leeway

leeway Synonyms

Synonyms

Related Words

Other Aeronautics/Aerospace Terms

LEEWAY Defined for English Language Learners

leeway

Definition of leeway for English Language Learners

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leeway

Definition of leeway

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Examples of leeway in a Sentence

Recent Examples of leeway from the Web

First Known Use of leeway

leeway Synonyms

Synonyms

Related Words

Other Aeronautics/Aerospace Terms

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LEEWAY Defined for English Language Learners

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