LEFT


Meaning of LEFT in English

I. left 1 S1 W1 /left/ BrE AmE adjective [only before noun]

[ Language: Old English ; Origin: 'weak' ]

1 . your left side is the side of your body that contains your heart OPP right :

She held out her left hand.

a scar on the left side of his face

2 . on the same side of something as your left side OPP right :

Take the next left turn.

the left bank of the river

a pile of papers on the left side of the desk

3 . have two left feet informal to move in an awkward way when you are running or doing a sport:

a tall, clumsy-looking boy with two left feet

4 . the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing used to say that one part of a group or organization does not know what the other parts are doing

II. left 2 S3 W3 BrE AmE adverb

towards the direction or side that is on the left OPP right :

Turn left just after the school.

III. left 3 S3 W3 BrE AmE noun

1 . the left/sb’s left the side of your body that contains your heart OPP right

on/to the left (of something)

Take the next road on the left.

Our house is just to the left of the school.

on/to sb’s left

On your left you can see the Houses of Parliament.

2 . (from) left to right from the left side to the right side of something:

The photo shows, from left to right, his daughters Molly, Fiona, and Anne.

3 . the left/the Left political parties and groups that support the ideas and beliefs of ↑ socialism . They usually want large industries to be owned by the state, and to use taxes to help solve social problems OPP right :

He has support from the Left.

politicians on the left of the party

The party is moving further to the left.

4 . [countable] a hit made with your left hand OPP right

5 . take a left ( also hang a left American English ) to turn left:

Take the next left (=turn left at the next road) .

IV. left 4 BrE AmE

the past tense and past participle of ↑ leave 1

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English.      Longman - Словарь современного английского языка.