leave over
B1 neutral separable transitive
In simple words
To not use all of something, so some is left for later.
Literal meaning: To leave something in a remaining state.
Meanings
1 A2 neutral
To have something remaining after use, especially food or money.
"We cooked too much pasta — there's always some left over."
Grammar: separable
2 B1 neutral
To leave a task or issue unfinished to be dealt with at a later time.
"They decided to leave the trickiest agenda items over for the next meeting."
Grammar: separable
Usage notes
Most commonly encountered in the passive ('left over') to describe remaining food, money, or time. The active construction 'leave over' is less frequent. 'Leftovers' as a noun (food remaining after a meal) is derived from this verb.
Commonly used with
food money time budget material space
Forms
Base
leave over
I/you/we/they
3rd person
leaves over
he/she/it
Past simple
left over
yesterday
Past participle
left over
have + pp
-ing form
leaving over
continuous
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Synonyms
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