What does "leer" mean?
A significant side glance; a glance expressive of some passion, as malignity, amorousness, etc.; a sly or lecherous look.
Leer
/lɪə/ adj, name, noun, verb
adj, name, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A significant side glance; a glance expressive of some passion, as malignity, amorousness, etc.; a sly or lecherous look.
- Grammar: leer is listed as adj, name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: aid to navigation, alarm, amber light, balefire.
- Useful contrasts: affable look, avoid eye contact, benign gaze.
- Usage evidence: Look at the leer on Tom's face.
How to use "leer"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "leer" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "leer" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "leer" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "leer" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "leer" is acting as adj, name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "aid to navigation" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "leer", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A significant side glance; a glance expressive of some passion, as malignity, amorousness, etc.; a sly or lecherous look.
"Nevertheless humanity stood before him no longer in the pensive sweetness of Italian art, but in the staring and ghastly attitudes of a Wiertz Museum, and with the leer of a study by Van Beers."
- 2 The cheek. obsolete
"No ladie (quoth the earle with a lowd voice, and the tears trilling downe his leeres)"
- 3 Alternative form of lehr. alt-of, alternative
- 4 a suggestive or sneering look or grin wordnet
- 5 An arch or affected glance or cast of countenance.
Show 6 more definitions
- 6 The face. obsolete
- 7 a facial expression of contempt or scorn; the upper lip curls wordnet
- 8 One's appearance; countenance. obsolete
"a Rosalind of a better leer than you"
- 9 Complexion; hue; colour. obsolete
"Here's a young lad fram'd of another leer. Look, how the black slave smiles upon the father;"
- 10 Flesh; skin. obsolete
- 11 The flank or loin. UK, dialectal
Verb
- 1 To look sideways or obliquely; now especially with sexual desire or malicious intent. intransitive
"And she looked to Mr. –––– / And leered like a love-sick pigeon."
- 2 To teach. obsolete, transitive
- 3 look suggestively or obliquely; look or gaze with a sly, immodest, or malign expression wordnet
- 4 To entice with a leer or leers. transitive
"But Bertran has been taught the Arts of Court, / To guild a Face with Smiles; and leer a man to ruin."
- 5 To learn. obsolete, transitive
Adjective
- 1 Empty; unoccupied; clear. obsolete
"The horse runs leere away without the man."
- 2 Destitute; lacking; wanting. obsolete
- 3 Faint from lack of food; hungry. obsolete
- 4 Thin; faint. UK, dialectal, obsolete
- 5 Having no load or burden; free; without a rider. obsolete
"a leer horse"
Show 1 more definition
- 6 Lacking sense or seriousness; trifling; frivolous. obsolete
"leer words"
Proper Noun
- 1 A town and rural district of Lower Saxony, Germany.
- 2 A small hamlet in Long Rapids Township, Alpena County, Michigan.
- 3 A town, the county seat of Leer County, Unity State, South Sudan.
- 4 A county of Unity State, South Sudan.
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
affable lookavoid eye contactbenign gazefriendly gaze
Example
"Look at the leer on Tom's face."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "leer"?
Common synonyms include: aid to navigation, alarm, amber light, balefire, beacon, beacon fire.
How do you use "leer" in a sentence?
Look at the leer on Tom's face.
How do you pronounce "leer"?
Pronounced /lɪə/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
Exact development uncertain, but apparently from a verb *leer (“to make a face, look sideways”), from leer (“cheek, face, profile”).
Etymology 2
From Middle English ler, leor (“face, cheek”), from Old English hlēor (“face, cheek, profile”), from Proto-West Germanic *hleuʀ, from Proto-Germanic *hleuzą (“ear, cheek”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱlews- (“temple of the forehead, cheek”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱlew- (“to hear”). Cognate with Scots lire, lere (“face, appearance, complexion”), Dutch lier (“cheek”), Swedish lyra (“pout”), Norwegian lia (“hillside”), Icelandic hlýr (“the face, cheek, countenance”). Related to Old English hlyst (“sense of hearing, listening”) and hlysnan (“to listen”). More at list, listen.
Etymology 3
From Middle English lere, from Old English ġelǣr, *lǣre (“empty, void, empty-handed”), from Proto-Germanic *lēziz, *lēzijaz (“empty”), from Proto-Indo-European *les- (“to collect, pick”). Cognate with Dutch laar (“a clearing in the woods”), German leer (“empty”). Related to Old English lesan (“to gather, collect”). More at lease.
Etymology 4
From Middle English leren, from Old English lǣran (“to teach, instruct, guide, enjoin, advise, persuade, urge, preach, hand down”), from Proto-West Germanic *laiʀijan, from Proto-Germanic *laizijaną (“to teach”), from Proto-Indo-European *leys- (“track, footprint, furrow, trace”). Cognate with Dutch leren (“to teach, to learn”), German lehren (“to teach”), Swedish lära (“to teach”). Related to Old English lār (“lore, learning, science, art of teaching, preaching, doctrine, study, precept, exhortation, advice, instigation, history, story, cunning”). See lore.
Etymology 5
See lehr.
Etymology 6
From German Leer, from Old Frisian Hleri.
Etymology 7
From Norwegian Bokmål Lier, a municipality in Buskerud county, Norway, from Old Norse Líðir, plural of (h)líð (“slope”).
Etymology 8
From Nuer.