Idiomatic: words and definitions (4,686) | English Dictionary

This page gathers the 4,686 dictionary entries of which at least one sense is labelled “Idiomatic” by Wiktionary. The definition shown is that sense; each word leads to its full entry. Page 24 of 47: from “laced-up” to “like that”.

laced-up adj Restrained; uptight.
lady garden noun A woman's pubic hair, and the area around it.
lady's man noun A man who attracts women and enjoys their company.
land in someone's lap verb To come into somebody's possession without that person making any effort to attain it, and possibly without them expecting it.
land on verb To reach a common conclusion or agreement, usually following a small period of disagreement.
land poor adj In a condition of poverty as a result of inability to meet tax payments or other financial requirements for one's land holdings.
landing strip noun A cultivated pubic hair pattern in which much of the pubic hair is removed, leaving only a central vertical line or rectangle.
large and in charge adj Dominating or controlling a situation with confidence and aplomb.
last full measure noun A person's life, when lost through death in service to a nation or cause, particularly as a member of a military force in war or a…
last hurrah noun A final act (by a politician, etc.) or performance (by an actor, etc.) that marks the end of a career.
last mile noun The final stage of delivery of goods, etc., from a distribution centre to the consumer, often involving greater effort or expense.
last minute noun An arbitrary (non-specific) point in time, too close to a deadline to reasonably begin a critical task.
last roundup noun A final gathering of people or items; the final event in a series of events involving a group or organization.
last word noun The finest, highest, or ultimate representative of some class of objects.
latch onto verb To obtain, acquire or get and keep hold of something.
lathered up verb In a nervous, anxious, or vexed state; in a lather.
laugh all the way to the bank verb To make a large income easily, especially at the expense of others or by doing something that lacks significant merit or effort.
laundry list noun A long and often tedious list of items.
lay a finger on verb To merely touch.
lay an egg verb To produce a failure or flop; to do something which is unsuccessful.
lay down the law verb To authoritatively or dogmatically assert what is permitted or not permitted.
lay hands on verb To find, obtain, or procure.
lay in lavender verb To pawn.
lay it on verb To repeatedly say something implied.
lay it on thick verb To exaggerate or overstate a feeling or emotion.
lay of the land noun The physical characteristics of the terrain or surrounding natural environment.
lay off verb (of an employer) To dismiss (workers) from employment, e.g. at a time of low business volume or through no fault of the worker, often with…
lay on verb To provide (food or drinks) for free.
lay on the line verb To state strongly, clearly, and accurately.
lay to rest verb To perform funerary services, especially burial, for someone who has died.
lead by the nose verb To cause to follow blindly.
lead on verb To mislead, to try to make someone believe a lie.
lead time noun The amount of time between the initiation of some process and its completion, e.g. the time required to manufacture or procure a product…
lead up to verb To set in motion; to act as a causal or preparatory event or sequence of events.
lead with one's chin verb To behave without caution; to make oneself vulnerable.
leading light noun An acclaimed expert, one of the foremost experts, a luminary.
leaps and bounds noun Dramatic improvements.
learn to walk before one can run verb To learn how to perform simple tasks before one can perform a more complicated task.
leather-lunged adj Possessing or characterized by robust lungs and a strong voice suitable for loud, sustained public speaking, shouting, wailing, singing…
leave at the door verb To dispense with something for now; to forget about it situationally, or omit or discard it in a given place or instance.
leave behind verb To abandon.
leave for dust verb To leave or abandon someone alone without helping or caring for them.
leave it all on the field phrase Used to remind players not to dwell on minor mistakes, issues or conflicts that happened during the course of play.
leave no stone unturned verb To search or investigate thoroughly.
leave off verb To omit.
leave someone in the dust verb To completely overtake a competitor.
leave the ball in someone's court verb To hand over the responsibility or choice to someone to make a decision or take action about something.
leave the nest verb To leave home; to stop living with one's parents.
leave to the imagination verb To omit, to leave out, to leave unstated.
left hook noun A surprise assault.
left turn noun An unexpected change from the way things seemed to be going.
left-handed compliment noun A complimentary remark which is ambiguous or ineptly worded, so that it may be interpreted as having an unflattering or dismissive sense.
les jeux sont faits phrase Things have reached an irreversible point; you cannot go back now that you have done something.
lessons learned noun Experiences distilled from past activities that should be actively taken into account in future actions and behaviors.
let alone conj Much less; to say nothing of; used after one negative clause to introduce another, usually broader and more important clause, whose…
let bygones be bygones verb To disregard or ignore a past difficulty in a relationship or an offence (when dealing with another individual).
let down verb To disappoint; to betray or fail somebody.
let drive verb To aim a blow; to strike with force; to attack; to shoot (an arrow or firearm).
let fly verb To strike or release a projectile with great force.
let it all hang out verb Behave without shyness, timidity, or worry about the reactions of other people; being perfectly candid and without concealment of one's…
let it be verb To leave something to follow its natural course; this involves desisting from any intent to intervene.
let loose verb To free; to release from restraint.
let nature take its course verb To permit events to proceed or a situation to develop without intervention or interference.
let off verb To forgive and not punish.
let on verb to reveal or indicate, especially unintentionally or against one's wishes
let one's fingers do the walking verb To use the phone or internet to find information, contact someone, or make a purchase instead of physically traveling to a store or…
let one's hair down verb To relax and enjoy oneself.
let oneself go verb To relax and enjoy oneself without restraint.
let out noun An opportunity to avoid or escape from a difficult or unpleasant situation.
let sleeping dogs lie verb To leave things as they are; especially, to avoid restarting or rekindling an old argument; to leave disagreements in the past.
let slide verb To allow the condition of something to deteriorate due to negligence or apathy.
let slip verb To divulge a secret, as by accident or mistake.
let someone have it verb To attack someone with great force.
let that sink in phrase Used to urge someone to take ample time to fully process or comprehend a surprising, shocking, or impactful statement.
let the buyer beware verb It is the buyer’s responsibility to ensure the soundness of goods or services prior to their purchase.
let the perfect be the enemy of the good verb To insist on the total realization of a goal and reject any compromise, thereby decreasing the chance of achieving even a part of that goal.
let them eat cake phrase Used to express a profound disconnect between the elite and the unprivileged or underprivileged, suggesting a callous indifference or…
letters after one's name noun A list of abbreviations, separated by commas, representing the academic qualifications and civil or military honors achieved by a person.
level off verb To get to a stable level; to cease climbing, descending, or oscillating.
libel chill noun Uneasiness or unwillingness to speak publicly or to write about a matter, as a result of the threat or suggestion of a libel action should…
licence to print money noun A means of generating a large income with little effort.
lick and a promise noun A quick, not-very-thorough wash.
lick one's chops verb To look forward avidly to eating something.
lick someone's ass verb To flatter someone (especially a superior) in an obsequious manner, and to support their every opinion.
lick the pants off verb To thoroughly and decisively defeat someone, either in a physical fight or, figuratively, in a competition.
lie before verb to put oneself at the whim of, to bow down to
life of the party noun A person who participates in entertainment events in a very enthusiastic manner and who has a leading role in inspiring others to join in…
life-or-death adj Of critical importance to the success of a particular endeavor.
light at the end of the tunnel noun A better situation after long hardship.
light bucket noun A reflecting telescope, especially one with a relatively large aperture and suitable for observing deep sky objects such as nebulae and…
light in the loafers adj Gay; homosexual.
light skirt noun Alternative spelling of lightskirt.
lighten up verb To make (something) or to become less serious and more cheerful or casual; to relax.
lightning fast adj Extremely fast, fast as lightning.
lightning in a bottle noun That which one seeks in attempting a difficult or challenging feat.
lightning strike noun A (sometimes unofficial) strike by workers with little or no warning.
lights out noun Unconsciousness.
like no other adj Very special.
like talking to a wall prep_phrase A futile or unsuccessful attempt at communication due to the ignorance or stubbornness of the other party.
like that adj Gay; homosexual.

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