1
a
: of, relating to, situated on, or being the side of the body in which the heart is mostly located
her left leg
b
: done with the left hand
a left hook to the jaw
c
: located nearer to the left hand than to the right
a man's left chest
d(1)
: located on the left of an observer facing in the same direction as the object specified
stage left
the left arm of a chair
(2)
: located on the left when facing downstream
the left bank of a river
2
often Left
: of, adhering to, or constituted by the Left (see left entry 2 sense 3a) in politics
… they justify what at the moment is possibly the least Left policy imaginable—lower tax rates for top earners.—
William Watson
William Watson… have written an open letter … calling for renewed talks to form a left government.—Aoife Moore
Aoife Moore
left
adverb
plural lefts
1
a
: the left hand
b
: the location or direction of the left side
c
: the part on the left side
d
: a turn to the left
take a left at the intersection
2
a
b
: a blow struck with the left fist
3
a
Left
: political parties and individuals who support or promote liberalism (see liberalism sense 2a) or progressivism
—usually used with the
policies opposed by the Left
b
: the political position of those who support the beliefs and policies of the Left
the country's shift to the left
c
often Left
: the members of a continental European legislative body occupying the section of the legislative chamber to the left of the presiding officer as a result of holding more liberal political views than other members
also,
usually left
: the section of the chamber they occupy
left
3 of 3past tense and past participle of leave
Synonyms
Examples of left in a Sentence
Adjective
He felt a pain in his left side.
He hit him with a left hook to the jaw.
the left side of the street
Noun
We read from left to right.
You'll take two lefts and then a right.
He hit him with two quick lefts to the stomach followed by a right to the jaw.
Recent Examples on the Web
PCMAG, 7 Nov. 2024
Schmidt's mugshot provided by police appears to show a bloody cut to the left side of his face.
—Natalie Neysa Alund, USA TODAY, 5 Nov. 2024
PCMAG, 12 Nov. 2024
And there’s this thing that often happens on the left when a Black person has views that aren’t doctrinaire or aren’t the views a white progressive thinks a Black person is supposed to have.
—Sean Illing, Vox, 9 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for left 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Adjective
The left side of the SoundLink's frame houses a USB-C port, which is used for charging and USB audio.
—PCMAG, 7 Nov. 2024
Schmidt's mugshot provided by police appears to show a bloody cut to the left side of his face.
—Natalie Neysa Alund, USA TODAY, 5 Nov. 2024
Noun
This mount holds the physical controls and connectors specific to each earcup, including a power button and USB-C port on the left and a four-way mini-joystick on the right.
—PCMAG, 12 Nov. 2024
And there’s this thing that often happens on the left when a Black person has views that aren’t doctrinaire or aren’t the views a white progressive thinks a Black person is supposed to have.
—Sean Illing, Vox, 9 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for left
Dictionary Entries Near left
Cite this Entry
“Left.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/left. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
left
1 of 3 adjective1
: of, relating to, or being the side of the body in which the heart is mostly located
the left leg
2
: located nearer to the left side of the body than to the right
the left arm of a chair
left
adverb
left
2 of 3 noun1
: the left side or the part on the left side
2
: the members of a European legislative body sitting to the left of the presiding officer and holding more radical views than other members
3
capitalized
: political liberals or radicals
also
: their beliefs
left
3 of 3past and past participle of leave
Medical Definition
left
adjective
: of, relating to, or being the side of the body in which the heart is mostly located
also
: located nearer to this side than to the right
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