leopard
796
leop·ard /'lepəd||-ərd/, leop·ard·ess /'lepədes||-ər-/ fem.
— n 1 a large fierce meat-eating catlike animal, yellowish
with black spots, that lives in Africa and southern Asia →
see picture at BIG CAT 2 a leopard can't change its spots
saying people cannot change their basic nature or character
le·o·tard /'li:əta:d||-ɑ:rd/ n a tight-fitting garment that cov-
ers the whole upper body from the neck to the legs, worn
especially by dancers
LEP /ˌel ɪ ˈpi:/ adj [A] AmE tech abbrev. for limited English
proficient; relating to someone whose first language is not
English and who cannot communicate very well in English:
The number of LEP students has risen since 1993.
Le Pen, Jean-Ma·rie /lə 'pen, ʒɒn mə'ri:||ʒɑ:n-/ (1928-) a
French politician who is the leader of the French National
Front, an extreme RIGHT-WING political party that is known
especially for wanting black and Arabic people to leave
France
lep·er /'lepər/ n 1 now usually taboo a person who has the
disease leprosy. Formerly lepers were forced to live away
from towns. They had to wear a bell and shout 'unclean,
unclean' to warn people not to come near them for fear of
passing on the disease: a leper hospital 2 a person who is
avoided by other people for social or moral reasons
lep·re·chaun /'leprəkɔ:n||-kɑ:n, -kɔ:n/ n (in old Irish sto-
ries) a kind of fairy in the form of a little man or ELF who
usually wears green, makes shoes for the fairies, and knows
where gold is hidden
lep·ro·sy /'leprəsi/ n [U] a long-lasting infectious disease in
which the skin becomes rough and thick with small round
hard whitish marks, and the flesh and nerves are slowly
destroyed —rous adj
Ler·wick /'lɜ:wɪk||'lɜ:r-/ a town and port which is the
capital of the Shetland Islands. Lerwick is on Mainland
island and is a centre of the fishing industry.
les·bi·an /'lezbiən/ adj, n (of or being) a woman who is
sexually attracted to women rather than to men → compare
BISEXUAL, HETEROSEXUAL, HOMOSEXUAL —ism n [U]
lese-ma·jes·ty, lèse-ma·jes·té /ˌli:z 'mædʒəsti, ˌleɪz
'mædʒəstər/ n [U] 1 law criminal action against a ruling king
or government 2 often humor behaviour that makes an impor-
tant person feel offended; lack of respect
Le Shut·tle /lə 'ʃʌt||/ trademark a name that was used espe-
cially in the past to refer to the train service that carries cars
and lorries (LORRY) through the Channel Tunnel between
England and France → compare EUROTUNNEL
le·sion /'li:ʒən/ n med 1 a wound: multiple lesions on the
back 2 a dangerous change in the form or working of a part
of the body, especially after an operation or accident: a
brain lesion
Les Mis·ér·ables /leɪ ˌmɪzə'rɑ:bəl, -blə/ also Les Miz
/leɪ 'mɪz/ infml a MUSICAL (=a play that uses song and dance
to tell a story) which is one of the most popular stage shows
ever and has been performed all over the world. It is based
on a novel by Victor HUGO, and tells the story of a failed
REVOLUTION in 19th century France.
Le·so·tho /lə'su:tu:||-'səʊtə/ a country in South Africa that
has a lot of mountains, and is completely surrounded by the
Republic of South Africa. It is a member of the British
COMMONWEALTH. Population: 1,861,959 (2003). Capital:
Maseru.
-less → see WORD FORMATION TABLE
less¹ /les/ adv [than)] 1 (with adjectives and adverbs) not so; not as;
to a smaller degree (than): I hope the next train will be less
crowded than this one. | Try and speak less indistinctly. |
(euph) I think she was being less than truthful. (=was not at
all truthful) → opposite MORE 2 (with verbs) not so much: Try
to shout less. | He works less than he used to. → opposite
MORE 3 less and less increasingly rarely: He comes here less
and less. 4 much/still less and certainly not: The baby can't
even walk, much less run.
less² determiner, pron (comparative of LITTLE) [(of, than)] 1 (with [U]
nouns and sing. [C] nouns) a smaller amount; not so much:
Statistics show that people now drink less beer than they used
to, and smoke fewer cigarettes. | I can't eat all that cake – could
you give me a little less? | To get the balance right you need a
bit less of the almond flavouring and a bit more of the
cinnamon. | Why have I got less than you? | Fourteen is less
than seventeen. | Nothing in this shop is less than (=costs
below) £10. | Can we have a bit less noise/less of that noise?
(=Be quiet!) | Increased taxes mean that people have less to
spend on luxuries. | She's less of a fool than (=not so foolish
as) I thought. | He's eating (even) less than usual. | I'll be back
in less than no time. (=very soon) | No less than a thousand
people came. (=it was surprising that there were so many) |
There were not less than (=at least) a thousand people there. |
Good heavens! It's the President himself no less./It's no less a
person than the President! (=it is surprising to see such an
important person) | It's nothing (more or) less than (=just
the same as; no better than) murder to send such a small
group of soldiers out to attack those heavily defended enemy
positions. → opposite MORE 2 (with pl. [C] nouns) a smaller
number; not so many; fewer: Now that our system's compu-
terized, we hope there will be less problems than before. →
opposite MORE; see USAGE 3 less and less (an amount)
that continues to become smaller: Margaret eats less and
less/does less and less work/is less and less able to get out of
bed. → opposite MORE AND MORE 4 the less: a) to a smaller
or lower amount, degree etc: In spite of his misdeeds, I don't
love him any the less. | They will think (all) the less (=have
a lower opinion) of you for what you have done. b) (used for
showing that two things get smaller, or change, together):
The less he eats the thinner he gets. → see also NEVERTHE-
LESS, NONETHELESS, more or less (MORE²) and MORE³
(USAGE)
In informal English many people now use less and
least with plural nouns: There are less cars on the road
at night, but this is still considered to be incorrect. Fewer
and fewest are the accepted forms: There are fewer
cars on the road at night. → see also FEW (USAGE)
less³ prep not counting; but we subtract; MINUS: She gave me
£100, less £5 for her own costs. (=she gave me £95)
les·see /le'si:/ n a person who by a LEASE (=a written
agreement) is given the use of a house, building, or land for
a certain time in return for payment to the LESSOR (=the
owner)
less·en /'lesən/ v [I;T] to make or become smaller in size,
worth, importance, appearance etc: This defeat lessens our
chances of winning the championship. | His behaviour had
lessened him in her eyes. (=given her a lower opinion of
him) | The noise lessened as the plane got further away.
less·er /'lesər/ adj, adv [A] rather fml (not used with than) not so great
or so much as the other (of two) in worth, degree, size etc:
the lesser of two evils | one of the lesser-known modern poets
Les·sing, Dor·is /'lesɪŋ, 'dɔ:rɪs||'dɔ:-/ (1919–) a British
writer of NOVELS and short stories. She wrote The Grass is
Singing, The Golden Notebook, and a set of five novels, The
Children of Violence, about politics and FEMINISM.
les·son /'lesən/ n 1 [(in, on)] (a period of time for) the
teaching of something to someone, especially to a pupil or
class in school: Each history lesson lasts 40 minutes. | She
gives drawing lessons/lessons in drawing. (=she teaches peo-
ple to draw) | Today's French lesson will be on irregular
verbs. | a driving lesson 2 (good sense learnt from) a warn-
ing example or experience: That accident taught me a
lesson; I won't drive too fast again. | His car accident has
been a lesson to him to stop driving too fast. | 'There,' I said,
'let that be a lesson to you' when he fell off his bike after
trying to ride it without holding on to the handlebars. → see
also learn one's lesson (LEARN) 3 a short piece read from
the Bible during religious services
les·sor /le'sɔ:r/ n a person who gives the use of a house,
building, or land by a LEASE (=a written agreement) to
someone else (the LESSEE) for a certain time, in return for
payment
lest /lest/ conj fml or old-fash 1 in order that the stated thing
should not happen; in case: Lest anyone (should) worry that
this will lead to price increases, let me reassure them that it
will not. 2 (with words expressing fear) that: I was afraid
lest she (should) be offended. 3 lest we forget a phrase which
is often written on British MONUMENTS to people killed in
World Wars I and II, or on WREATHS put on such monu-
ments, e.g. on REMEMBRANCE DAY
let¹ /let/ v let; pres. participle letting [T] 1 [not usually pass.] to