leaf
[noun]
Synonyms:
- frond, blade
- page, folio, sheet
[verb]
Synonyms:
- leaf through: browse, flip, glance, riffle, skim, thumb (through)

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. leaf¹ S2 W2 /liːf/ noun (plural leaves /liːvz/)
[Language: Old English]

1. PLANT [countable] one of the flat green parts of a plant that are joined to its stem or branches:
a flowering bush with large shiny leaves
leaf of
Add a few leaves of fresh basil to the salad.
be in leaf/come into leaf (=have or start growing leaves, at a particular time of year)
The forest was just coming into leaf.

2. take a leaf out of sb’s book to copy the way someone else behaves because you want to be like them or be as successful as they are:
They are committing $3m to research. We could take a leaf out of their book.

3. turn over a new leaf to change the way you behave and become a better person:
I see fatherhood as a chance to turn over a new leaf.

4. PAGE [countable] formal a page of a book:
He slipped the letter between the leaves of his notebook. ⇒ loose-leaf, overleaf

5. PART OF TABLE [countable] a part of the top of a table that can be taken out to make the table smaller
⇒ shake like a leaf at shake¹(2)

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. leaf² verb
leaf through something phrasal verb
to turn the pages of a book quickly, without reading it properly Synonym : skim through:
She picked up the magazine and leafed through it.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

leaf
noun
ADJ. new, young | autumn, dead, dry, fallen, falling, rotting, rotten The ground was thick with dead leaves.
broad (especially technical), heart-shaped, oval broad leaf plants
green, yellow, etc. | glossy, hairy, leathery, mottled, shiny, spiky, variegated | bay, lettuce, oak, tea, etc. Throw the tea leaves on the flower bed.
VERB + LEAF have This plant has beautifully variegated leaves.
break/burst/come into, grow, produce, put out It was spring and the trees were coming into leaf. In the spring the plant began to put out new leaves.
shed Deciduous trees shed their leaves in autumn.
LEAF + VERB appear Spring arrived and the first green leaves began to appear.
turn, yellow The summer was over and the leaves were beginning to turn.
fall | rustle The leaves rustled in the light breeze.
LEAF + NOUN litter, mould the leaf litter on the forest floor
PHRASES in full leaf The corn was already ripening and the trees in full leaf.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

leaf

the leaves turn red/brown etc (=become red, brown etc)
The maple leaves had turned a fiery red.
the leaves fall
All the leaves had fallen off the tree.
a tree loses/sheds its leaves (=the leaves come off the tree)
Most trees shed their leaves in the autumn.
sweep (up) the leaves (=tidy away fallen leaves using a brush)
Jack was sweeping leaves in the back garden.
a green/brown/yellow etc leaf
the deep green leaves of the coconut trees
a dead leaf
The ground beneath the tree was covered in dead leaves.
fallen leaves (=that have fallen off the trees)
The children were jumping in piles of fallen leaves.
autumn leaves (also fall leaves American English) (=leaves that have changed colour or fallen in autumn)
I love the colours of the autumn leaves.
an oak/vine/spinach etc leaf (=a leaf from a specific plant or tree)
Vine leaves stuffed with rice is a typical Greek dish.
be in leaf especially literary (=have leaves)
By this time, most of the trees were in leaf.
come into leaf (=start having leaves)
The apple tree had finally come into leaf.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

leaf
li:f
See: turn over a new leaf

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲