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

• liberalism
• left

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

As Raphinha locked down the left wing spot, Ansu was frozen out and also struggled when deployed in a central 9 role on occasions Robert Lewandowski was given a rare rest. —Tom Sanderson, Forbes.com, 27 June 2025

Later in the game, Al Hilal are overloading the left wing and, as Milinkovic-Savic is playing the ball to Mohamed Kanno, Lodi runs from behind Diaz. —Ahmed Walid, New York Times, 19 June 2025

Centrist Democrats picked a fight with their party’s left wing on Wednesday. —David Weigel, semafor.com, 5 June 2025

This was followed by three more that severely damaged the left wing. —Linda Dudik, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 May 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