1
as in abandoning
to cause to remain behind
you can leave your lunch in the refrigerator while we're outside starry-eyed lovers who promise never to leave one another
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in bequeathing
to give by means of a will
I'm going to leave all of my possessions to my children
Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in quitting
to give up (a job or office)
he left his job in the city and moved out into the country
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in handing
to put (something) into the possession or safekeeping of another
why don't you leave your watch with me while you swim?
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
5
as in dumping
to end a usually intimate relationship with
is there ever a good way to leave a lover?
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
6
as in letting
to give permission to
aw, leave him come
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in departing
Related Words
as in retirement
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of leaving
Sean Emery, Oc Register, 28 Oct. 2025
But Velma's leaving wasn’t the only season 3 shakeup — later in the episode, it was also revealed that Randy’s cousin Bobby (Eric Graise) had also exited the series.
—Angel Saunders, PEOPLE, 22 Oct. 2025
His leaving, then, would provide the ideal opportunity for Dora to tell her parents what happened.
—Literary Hub, 22 Sep. 2025
The silent treatment and leaving are equally damaging, if not worse, to a relationship.
—Khloe Quill, FOXNews.com, 15 Sep. 2025
However, once April hit, the OLCA only had three workers left due to reassignments and voluntary leaving incentives.
—Suzanne Blake, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 Sep. 2025
This one is very similar, initially showing Ramba Ral and Hamon leaving, with a table in the center holding host to Char Aznable and other Zeon officers (shown below).
—Ollie Barder, Forbes.com, 11 Sep. 2025
Champions Liverpool are leading the way in terms of expenditure this summer — their total outlay is north of £300million — but have been selling plenty of players too, with Darwin Nunez (Al Hilal), Luis Diaz (Bayern Munich), Jarell Quansah (Bayer Leverkusen) and Ben Doak (Bournemouth) leaving.
—Dan Sheldon, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2025
With a productive senior class leaving, keep an eye on Gibson to make massive strides.
—Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 Aug. 2025
Sebastian Stafford-Bloor, New York Times, 31 Oct. 2025
At the same time, leaving grass too long over the winter can shade the soil and weaken the grass.
—Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 31 Oct. 2025
Claims of King's exit come amid other CBS talents leaving their roles following Skydance Media's $8 billion acquisition of Paramount in August.
—Charna Flam, PEOPLE, 31 Oct. 2025
Just because a beloved anchor is leaving their respective show doesn’t mean they still won’t be involved with the network.
—Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 31 Oct. 2025
Jesse Eisenberg is leaving his turn as Mark Zuckerberg in the past.
—Lexi Carson, HollywoodReporter, 30 Oct. 2025
Proponents of Illinois secession are serious about leaving Illinois, but don't necessarily want to join Indiana.
—Hayleigh Colombo, IndyStar, 24 Oct. 2025
One week later, the inmate attacked him in the middle of the night and beat him with a padlock attached to a belt, leaving him with a gash to the head and other injuries, according to the lawsuit.
—Paul Egan, Freep.com, 23 Oct. 2025
After leaving La Navidad, Columbus sailed along the north coast of Hispaniola and discovered a new settlement, La Isabela.
—Literary Hub, 23 Oct. 2025
Adjective
With Mead leaving, Camela Kay said Eric Kay took on many of his duties.
—Sean Emery, Oc Register, 28 Oct. 2025
But Velma's leaving wasn’t the only season 3 shakeup — later in the episode, it was also revealed that Randy’s cousin Bobby (Eric Graise) had also exited the series.
—Angel Saunders, PEOPLE, 22 Oct. 2025
His leaving, then, would provide the ideal opportunity for Dora to tell her parents what happened.
—Literary Hub, 22 Sep. 2025
The silent treatment and leaving are equally damaging, if not worse, to a relationship.
—Khloe Quill, FOXNews.com, 15 Sep. 2025
However, once April hit, the OLCA only had three workers left due to reassignments and voluntary leaving incentives.
—Suzanne Blake, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 Sep. 2025
This one is very similar, initially showing Ramba Ral and Hamon leaving, with a table in the center holding host to Char Aznable and other Zeon officers (shown below).
—Ollie Barder, Forbes.com, 11 Sep. 2025
Champions Liverpool are leading the way in terms of expenditure this summer — their total outlay is north of £300million — but have been selling plenty of players too, with Darwin Nunez (Al Hilal), Luis Diaz (Bayern Munich), Jarell Quansah (Bayer Leverkusen) and Ben Doak (Bournemouth) leaving.
—Dan Sheldon, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2025
With a productive senior class leaving, keep an eye on Gibson to make massive strides.
—Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 Aug. 2025
Noun
Maza, already a full Algeria international at 19, was scouted by several Premier League clubs before leaving second-tier Hertha Berlin.
—Sebastian Stafford-Bloor, New York Times, 31 Oct. 2025
At the same time, leaving grass too long over the winter can shade the soil and weaken the grass.
—Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 31 Oct. 2025
Claims of King's exit come amid other CBS talents leaving their roles following Skydance Media's $8 billion acquisition of Paramount in August.
—Charna Flam, PEOPLE, 31 Oct. 2025
Just because a beloved anchor is leaving their respective show doesn’t mean they still won’t be involved with the network.
—Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 31 Oct. 2025
Jesse Eisenberg is leaving his turn as Mark Zuckerberg in the past.
—Lexi Carson, HollywoodReporter, 30 Oct. 2025
Proponents of Illinois secession are serious about leaving Illinois, but don't necessarily want to join Indiana.
—Hayleigh Colombo, IndyStar, 24 Oct. 2025
One week later, the inmate attacked him in the middle of the night and beat him with a padlock attached to a belt, leaving him with a gash to the head and other injuries, according to the lawsuit.
—Paul Egan, Freep.com, 23 Oct. 2025
After leaving La Navidad, Columbus sailed along the north coast of Hispaniola and discovered a new settlement, La Isabela.
—Literary Hub, 23 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for leaving
Verb
-
Avoid abandoning any fire without supervision.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
28 Oct. 2025
-
Under Armour isn’t abandoning traditional advertising, Rutstein says.—
Brian Steinberg,
Variety,
28 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Effectively, Newsom’s slow roll protects him from taking any meaningful actions, thus bequeathing reparations to his successor, like his many other unresolved California issues.—
Dan Walters,
Mercury News,
22 Oct. 2025
-
Rewriting society’s decision-making Unlike biased pundits who hem, haw and hedge their bets, Web3 prediction markets cut through noise, bequeathing a signal that feeds into pricing mechanisms themselves.—
Atharva Gosavi,
Interesting Engineering,
17 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Ariana Grande is opening up about nearly quitting music.—
Mitchell Peters,
Billboard,
25 Oct. 2025
-
When infertility came for me, my response was to pursue pregnancy with an ever-narrowing focus, incrementally eliminating everything else in my life—quitting my job, slinking away from friendships, disappearing from the wider world.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
22 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Rosensweig, a former top executive at Yahoo who joined Chegg as CEO in 2010, stepped down from the post in April 2024, handing the job to Schultz, who was operating chief at the time.—
Annie Palmer,
CNBC,
28 Oct. 2025
-
Jamaican vacation resorts stockpile supplies ahead of hurricane Jamaican vacation resorts are preparing for Hurricane Melissa by stock piling supplies and handing them out to hotel staff and guests.—
Hannah Parry,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The Chiefs players took turns dumping their favorite sweet treats into an orange Halloween candy bowl while revealing fun facts about themselves.—
Lisa Gutierrez,
Kansas City Star,
28 Oct. 2025
-
Melissa will then hit southeastern Cuba on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning as a major hurricane, dumping 10 to 20 inches of rain and leading to catastrophic flooding and numerous landslides.—
Kenton Gewecke,
ABC News,
27 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Under Baer, Stitch Fix has been opening the aperture and is letting consumers get larger fixes on their own timetables as well as shipments based on a theme or built around a purchase through the platform’s freestyle service.—
Evan Clark,
Footwear News,
3 Nov. 2025
-
And as for balancing her still-thriving acting career with music, Silvers plans on letting curiosity reign.—
Ellise Shafer,
Variety,
3 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Flights for Los Angeles International Airport were temporarily halted Sunday because of a staffing shortage at the Southern California TRACON, which handles flights arriving or departing.—
Zoe Sottile,
CNN Money,
27 Oct. 2025
-
How much of the two presidents Alaskans will be able to see beyond their aircraft arriving and departing is unclear.—
Al Weaver,
The Hill,
14 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Williams, an undersized combo forward who carves out space at will and debated turning pro after a first-team All-Big-12 campaign last year, will be the fulcrum of everything after transferring from Texas Tech.—
Sam Vecenie,
New York Times,
3 Nov. 2025
-
They've been charged with receiving, transferring and attempting to receive and transfer firearms knowing and having reasonable cause to believe that they would be used to commit terrorism.—
Michael Ruiz,
FOXNews.com,
3 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Leaving.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/leaving. Accessed 5 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share