Definition of leeway
1a : 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.
From the M-W Editors
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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Both provisions are part of the 2010 Affordable Care Act the Senate plan seeks to replace; the Senate proposal gives states more leeway for determining which treatments for pre-existing conditions will be covered.
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The complicating factor for Ken is that those standards have broadened more in regard to women, possibly because men already had more leeway with their appearance.
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Boundless cash from investment firms around the world has given companies leeway to stay private.
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 Defined for English Language Learners
leeway
playDefinition of leeway for English Language Learners
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: freedom to do something the way you want to do it
Learn More about leeway
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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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