leakey
- n English paleontologist (son of Louis Leakey and Mary Leakey) who continued the work of his parents; he was appointed director of a wildlife preserve in Kenya but resigned under political pressure (born in 1944)
- n English paleontologist (the wife of Louis Leakey) who discovered the Zinjanthropus skull that was 1,750,000 years old (1913-1996)
- n English paleontologist whose account of fossil discoveries in Tanzania changed theories of human evolution (1903-1972)
leakiness
- n the condition of permitting leaks or leakage
the leakiness of the roof
the heart valve's leakiness
the leakiness of the boat made it dangerous to use
leander
- n (Greek mythology) a youth beloved of Hero who drowned in a storm in the Hellespont on one of his nightly visits to see her
leaner
- n (horseshoes) the throw of a horseshoe so as to lean against (but not encircle) the stake
- a lacking excess flesh
- a lacking in mineral content or combustible material
- s containing little excess
- s not profitable or prosperous
leaning tower
- n a tall round marble campanile in Pisa that is not perpendicular; construction was begun in 1174
leeward tide
- n a tide that runs in the same direction as the wind is blowing
leaning tower of pisa
- n a tall round marble campanile in Pisa that is not perpendicular; construction was begun in 1174
leanness
- n the quality of being meager
- n the property of having little body fat
leap
- n a light, self-propelled movement upwards or forwards
- n an abrupt transition
a successful leap from college to the major leagues - n a sudden and decisive increase
- n the distance leaped (or to be leaped)
a leap of 10 feet - v move forward by leaps and bounds
The child leapt across the puddle - v pass abruptly from one state or topic to another
leap into fame - v jump down from an elevated point
the widow leapt into the funeral pyre - v cause to jump or leap
leap second
- n a second (as measured by an atomic clock) added to or subtracted from Greenwich Mean Time in order to compensate for slowing in the Earth's rotation
leap year
- n in the Gregorian calendar: any year divisible by 4 except centenary years divisible by 400
leapfrog
- n advancing as if in the child's game, by leaping over obstacles or competitors
the company still believes the chip is a leapfrog in integration and will pay huge dividends - n a game in which one child bends down and another leaps over
- v jump across
He leapfrogged his classmates - v progress by large jumps instead of small increments
leaping
- n a light, self-propelled movement upwards or forwards
- v move forward by leaps and bounds
- v pass abruptly from one state or topic to another
- v jump down from an elevated point
- v cause to jump or leap