This page gathers the 5,691 dictionary entries of which at least one sense is labelled “Figuratively” by Wiktionary. The definition shown is that sense; each word leads to its full entry. Page 28 of 57: from “kitchenward” to “leave for dead”.
- kitchenward adv Toward food in general.
- kite noun A rapacious person.
- klondike noun A source of wealth or something else valuable.
- knacker's yard noun A (notional) place to send a person or object that is spent beyond all reasonable use.
- knaggy adj Temperamentally rough.
- knap noun A method of cheating at a dice game.
- knead verb To treat or form as if by kneading; to beat.
- knee noun The presence of a parent etc., where a young child acquires early knowledge.
- knee high adj Very young.
- knee-deep adj Deeply involved (in something) or preoccupied (with something).
- kneecap verb To attack (someone) in a way that is excessively and needlessly damaging: to cut (someone) off at the knees.
- kneecapping noun An excessively and needlessly damaging attack or disparagement.
- knell noun A sign of the end or demise of something or someone.
- knife up verb To slice through; to cut or traverse a path through or between.
- knife-edge noun A precarious balance that could be upset by a very small force in either direction.
- knit verb To join closely and firmly together.
- knock noun A criticism.
- knock into a cocked hat verb To completely demolish, nullify, overthrow, or otherwise defeat (a person; an argument, idea, or proposition; or a thing).
- knock the living daylights out of verb To greatly excel against (someone or something).
- knock together verb To come together, as if in contact.
- knotty adj Complicated or tricky; complex, difficult.
- knuckle verb To yield.
- knuckleball noun An event that is hard to predict.
- kosher adj In accordance with standards or usual practice.
- kowtow verb To grovel, act in a very submissive manner; to show obeisance to (someone or something) in such a manner; to bow.
- kryptonite noun The one weakness of something or someone that is otherwise invulnerable.
- laboring oar noun The part of a task that requires the greatest effort to achieve.
- laboured adj Of writing or speech or similar, stilted or not natural due to too much effort being used in the production.
- labyrinthine adj Convoluted, baffling, confusing, perplexing.
- lace verb To intersperse or diversify with something.
- lacerate verb To defeat thoroughly; to thrash.
- lackluster adj Not exceptional; not worthy of special merit, attention, or interest; having no vitality.
- lacuna noun Any gap, break, hole, or lack in a set of things; something missing.
- ladder noun A series of stages by which one progresses to a better position.
- lading noun Burden.
- lair noun A place inhabited by a criminal or criminals, a superhero or a supervillain; a refuge, retreat, haven or hideaway.
- Lake Wobegon noun An idealized, close-knit small-town community.
- lakh noun Often in the plural: an indefinitely large number; a zillion.
- lamb noun A person who is meek, docile, and easily led.
- lambent adj Exhibiting lightness or brilliance of wit; clever or witty without unkindness.
- land verb To go down well with an audience.
- land before time noun A region or territory of the Earth before any living organisms existed.
- land mine noun A critical subject or situation with concealed or unpredictable implications.
- landmark noun A major event or discovery.
- landrush noun Any scramble for limited resources.
- landscape noun a situation that is presented, a scenario
- language noun The expression of thought (the communication of meaning) in a specified way; that which communicates something, as language does.
- lap noun A place of rearing and fostering.
- lap dog noun A person who behaves in a servile manner, such as a sycophantic employee or a fawning lover.
- lap up verb To revel in, to overtly enjoy.
- lapidate verb To hurl insults at.
- lard down verb To add unnecessary spending to a program that will likely doom it.
- lard up verb To add enticements to (something) to gain support for it.
- lares and penates noun One's prized possessions, considered as the protectors or symbols of one's household.
- larger than life adj Very imposing, renowned, or impressively influential.
- largesse noun Abundance of something (chiefly beneficial), regarded as having been given generously.
- LARP noun A pretension, delusion, or perverse appropriation.
- larva noun A preliminary stage of someone or something, before it has fully matured, especially a time of growth rather than one of performance.
- lash out verb To make a fierce verbal attack.
- last chance saloon noun A place that one is said to inhabit when facing an imminent disaster with diminishing or limited remaining opportunities to avoid it; a…
- last dance noun A last run, suggesting a sense of nostalgia.
- last gasp noun The point at which something disappears or is destroyed; a last-gasp moment, attempt, etc.
- last stand noun A military encounter, especially against (often greatly) superior odds, generally as a last resort, whether to save another army or city…
- last time I checked phrase Yes; affirmative; obviously.
- last trump noun A time that will never come; forever.
- lastborn noun The youngest member of any company or organization.
- late bloomer noun A person who reaches puberty or who matures comparatively later than is typical.
- latibulize verb To retreat and lie hidden.
- latitude noun The relative freedom from restrictions; scope to do something.
- latte noun Affluent leftism.
- laugh verb To be or appear cheerful, pleasant, mirthful, lively, or brilliant; to sparkle; to sport.
- launch pad noun A starting point.
- laurel noun Honor, distinction, fame.
- lava noun Hot water.
- lavatory noun A baptismal font: the basin used for baptism, used figuratively for the washing away of sins.
- lave noun The sea.
- law of the jungle noun A putative law dictating that one serves one's own interest to the extent that one can, in any situation where legal authority is absent or…
- lay a foundation verb To make a start.
- lay bare verb To expose to view, reveal, uncover.
- lay into verb To berate; to scold.
- lay siege verb To attack continually over a long period.
- lay to rest verb To close (a matter of dispute).
- lazar house noun A hospital or lazaret for quarantining patients suffering highly infectious diseases.
- lazaret noun A building such as a hospital, or occasionally a ship, used to isolate sick people to prevent the spread of infectious diseases; a…
- lazaretto noun A building such as a hospital, or occasionally a ship, used to temporarily isolate sick people to prevent the spread of infectious…
- Lazarus noun A person who was dead and has been resurrected; a dead person who could potentially be resurrected.
- leach verb To bleed; to seep.
- lead verb To direct; to counsel; to instruct.
- lead by the nose verb To cause to follow blindly.
- lead the way verb To act as a guide or pioneer.
- leaden adj Resembling the color of lead, metallic or dark gray; (of daylight) dim, overcast.
- leading strings noun Guidance given during childhood.
- leak verb To pass through when it would normally or preferably be blocked.
- leak out verb To be revealed (especially, of information intended to be kept secret).
- lean in verb To proactively take charge of a situation; to be bold in exerting one's will in a situation.
- lean on verb To depend upon for support; to require assistance from.
- leap noun A significant move forward.
- leap of faith noun The act of believing in something despite a lack of proof of its truth or existence, or the attempt of something without being sure of its…
- leash verb to curb, restrain
- leave for dead verb To disregard or bypass as unimportant.