left wing

noun

plural left wings

1

: the leftist division of a group (such as a political party) : the segment of a group (such as a political party) that calls for greater adherence to liberalism (see liberalism sense 2a) or progressivism (see progressivism sense 1)

the left wing of the Democratic Party

2

: political parties and individuals who support or promote political liberalism or progressivism

sometimes, specifically : such parties and individuals who are deeply opposed to capitalism

left-wing

ˈleft-ˈwiŋ 

adjective

left-wing politics

left-winger

ˈleft-ˈwiŋ-ər 

noun

plural left-wingers

the party's left-wingers

Synonyms

• left
• leftism
• liberalism

Examples of left wing in a Sentence

His nomination is supported by the party's left wing but opposed by the right wing.

the left wing has lost considerable influence in the party, which is now aggressively courting political moderates

Recent Examples on the Web

Martinez’s pass to Raphinha on the left wing was intercepted by Federico Valverde, with Modric pouncing on the loose ball. —Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 28 Apr. 2025

The decisive moment arrived in the 59th minute when Argentinian starlet Nico Paz broke away on the counter to feed a pass to Patrick Cutrone on the left wing. —David Ferrini, Forbes.com, 27 Apr. 2025

Evan Rodrigues moved to the left wing on the Panthers’ second line with Sam Bennett at center and Matthew Tkachuk at right wing, while Mackie Samoskevich is now the right wing on the fourth line with Jesper Boqvist at left wing and Nico Sturm at center. —Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 26 Apr. 2025

The drone punched a hole in the plane's left wing, causing enough damage that officials grounded the aircraft for several days to make repairs. —CBS News, 21 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1844, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for left wing

• bowstring
• coiling
• downswing
• drawstring
• forewing
• hamstring
• lapwing
• mainspring
• offspring
• plaything
• shoestring
• texting