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let1 definition

let (let)

transitive verb let, letting let′·ting

  1. to leave; forsake; abandon: now only in phrases let alone or let be, to refrain from bothering, disturbing, touching, etc.
    1. to give the use of (a house, room, etc.) to a tenant in return for rent; rent; hire out
    2. to give out (work), assign (a contract), etc.
  3. to allow or cause to escape; cause to flow or come out, as by shedding, emitting, etc. to let blood
  4. to allow to pass, come, or go let me in
  5. to allow; permit: followed by an infinitive, normally without to[let me help], or by an adverb, etc. with the verb itself unexpressed [let me up]
  6. to cause to; make: usually with know or hear let me hear from you

Etymology: ME leten < OE lætan, to leave behind, akin to Ger lassen < IE *lēd- < base *lēi-, to neglect, leave behind > late, L letum, death

intransitive verb

to be rented or leased house to let
let Idioms

let alone

see letabove & see the phrase under alone

let down

  1. to lower
  2. to slow up; relax; slacken
  3. to disappoint or fail

let off

  1. to give forth (steam, etc.)
  2. to excuse from work for a short time
  3. to deal leniently with; release with light punishment or none

let on

Informal
  1. to indicate one's awareness of a fact
  2. to pretend

let out

  1. to allow to flow, run, etc. away; release
  2. to give forth; emit
  3. to lease or rent out
  4. to reveal (a secret, etc.)
  5. to make a garment larger by reducing (the seams, hem, etc.)
  6. to cut (fur pelts) into strips that are then sewn together to achieve suppleness, attractive shading, etc.
  7. ☆ to dismiss or be dismissed, as school

let someone have it

to attack, hit, shoot, etc. someone

let up

  1. to slacken; relax
  2. to cease

let up on

☆
Informal to stop dealing harshly or severely with

let well enough alone

see the phrase under alone
let2 definition

let (let)

transitive verb letted let′·ted or let, letting let′·ting

Archaic to hinder; obstruct; prevent

Etymology: ME letten < OE lettan, to hinder, lit., to make late (akin to Goth latjan, to delay) < base of læt, late

noun

  1. an obstacle or impediment: used in the legal phrase without let or hindrance
  2. Tennis, etc. an interference with the course of the ball in some way specified in the rules, making it necessary to play the point over again

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:

business let definition - business

idioms let idiom

law let definition - legal

let Synonyms

let

v.

  1. To permit

    allow, permit, suffer, cause to; see allow 1.

  2. To award; said especially of contracts

    make, sign, grant, assign, engage, let out, hire out; see also give 1.

    Antonyms cancel*, repudiate*, break. *

  3. To rent

    lease, hire, sublet; see rent 1. See syn. study at allow, hire.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

let Usage Examples

Object

  • slip: But beyond that is anyone's guess, although Devonshire did let slip that injury doubt Brian Connor would be considered, if fit.

Preposition: on

  • tenancy: Residential property let on a tenancy 2.2 Paragraphs 2.3.

Modifying Another Word

  • alone: I'm just worried what Harry would do with £ 10m let alone £ 100m.

Followed by an intransitive particle

  • down: Many already felt they had been let down by the authorities.

Followed by a transitive particle

  • off: Car Running Costs If you are irate about gasoline prices, why not let off some steam in our forum?

Used with why or when

  • that: But, says Paul, don't let that make you think something's wrong.

Particle object: off_obj

  • steam: Car Running Costs If you are irate about gasoline prices, why not let off some steam in our forum?
let usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

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"let." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/let>

APA Style

let. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/let

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