Words beginning with L

205 words

• label — a slip giving information about a product; to classify or describe
• laborious — requiring long and hard work
• labour — work, especially hard physical work; the workforce
• labyrinth — a confusing network of paths or procedures
• lackadaisical — lacking enthusiasm and determination
• lacklustre — lacking energy, brilliance or conviction
• laconic — using very few words
• lacuna — a gap or missing part, especially in a law or record
• ladder — a series of stages by which one rises in status
• lag — to fall behind others in progress
• laggard — a person, unit or region that falls behind the others
• lagoon — a shallow body of water cut off from the sea by a sandbar
• laissez-faire — a policy of minimum state interference in economic affairs
• laity — ordinary members of a body, as distinct from its trained professionals
• lambast — to criticise harshly and publicly
• lament — to express deep regret or sorrow
• lamentable — regrettably bad
• lampoon — to publicly mock someone in writing or drawing
• landfall — the arrival of a storm on land after crossing the sea
• landfill — a site where waste is dumped and buried under layers of earth
• landform — a natural feature of the earth’s surface
• landholding — the extent of land owned or cultivated by a household
• landless — owning no agricultural land
• landlord — a person who owns land or premises let out to a tenant
• landmark — an event or decision marking an important stage
• landmass — a large continuous area of land
• landowner — a person who holds title to land
• landscape — the visible features of an area; the general character of a field
• landslide — an overwhelming electoral victory; a mass of earth sliding down a slope
• languid — showing little energy or spirit
• languish — to remain neglected in an unpleasant situation
• lapse — a failure to maintain a standard; the expiry of a right
• larceny — the unlawful taking of another person’s property; theft
• large-scale — extensive in size, scope or number
• largesse — money or gifts given generously, often for political effect
• lassitude — a state of physical or mental weariness
• last-mile — relating to the final stage of delivering a service to the user
• lasting — continuing for a long time
• latecomer — one who arrives or joins after the others
• latency — the state of lying dormant before becoming active
• latent — existing but not yet visible or active
• lateral — from or to the side; entry into service from outside the regular cadre
• laterite — a red, iron-rich soil formed by heavy leaching in the tropics
• latitude — freedom to act or think as one wishes
• laudable — deserving praise
• laudatory — expressing praise
• launch — to set a scheme or campaign in motion
• launder — to disguise the origin of illegally obtained money
• laureate — a person honoured with a major award
• laurels — honour and distinction won by achievement
• lavish — given in generous or extravagant quantity
• lawful — permitted or recognised by law
• lawlessness — a condition in which laws are neither observed nor enforced
• lawmaker — a member of a legislature who frames laws
• lawsuit — a claim brought before a court for decision
• lax — not sufficiently strict or careful
• laxity — lack of strictness or care
• layman — a person without professional knowledge of a subject
• layoff — the temporary or permanent discharge of workers
• leach — to be washed out of the soil by percolating water
• leadership — the act or quality of guiding an organisation
• leakage — the loss of funds or goods as they pass through a system
• lean — marked by scarcity, as of work, income or food
• leapfrog — to advance by skipping the intermediate stages
• lease — a contract by which property is let for a period
• leaseholder — a person holding property under a lease
• ledger — the principal book in which accounts are posted
• leeway — the amount of freedom available to act
• legacy — something handed down from an earlier period
• legalese — technical legal language that ordinary readers cannot follow
• legalise — to make something lawful
• legality — the state of being in accordance with law
• legatee — a person who receives property under a will
• legendary — very famous and much talked about
• legible — clear enough to be read
• legislate — to make laws
• legislation — laws considered collectively; the act of making them
• legislative — relating to the making of laws or to a law-making body
• legislator — an elected member of a law-making body
• legislature — the law-making body of a state or country
• legitimacy — the quality of being accepted as rightful and lawful
• legitimate — lawful and justifiable
• legitimise — to make something acceptable or lawful
• legume — a pod-bearing crop such as gram or pea that fixes nitrogen
• leisure — time free from work, available for rest
• lender — a person or institution that advances money on loan
• lending — the activity of giving loans
• lengthen — to make or become longer in time or extent
• lengthy — long, especially tediously so
• leniency — the quality of being merciful in punishment
• lenient — more merciful than expected in punishing
• lessee — the party to whom property is let under a lease
• lessen — to make or become smaller in degree
• lessor — the party who lets out property under a lease
• lethal — capable of causing death
• lethality — the capacity to cause death
• lethargic — sluggish and lacking energy
• lethargy — a state of tiredness and inactivity
• levee — an embankment raised to keep a river from flooding
• leverage — the power to influence an outcome; the use of borrowed capital
• levity — lack of seriousness where it is expected
• levy — to impose a tax or fee; the amount so imposed
• liability — a debt or legal responsibility
• liable — legally responsible; likely to do something
• liaise — to establish cooperation between two parties
• liaison — communication and cooperation between two organisations
• libel — a published false statement damaging a person’s reputation
• liberal — generous; open to new ideas and to others’ freedom
• liberalisation — the removal of state restrictions on trade and industry
• liberalise — to relax rules or restrictions
• liberalism — a political outlook stressing individual liberty and limited state power
• liberate — to set free from control or confinement
• liberty — freedom from arbitrary control
• licence — official permission to own or do something
• licensee — the holder of an official permit
• licensing — the system of granting official permission to operate
• lien — a legal right to keep property until a debt is paid
• lieu — instead of, used in the phrase “in lieu of”
• lieutenant — a deputy who acts for a superior, as in Lieutenant Governor
• lifeblood — the thing indispensable to something’s continued existence
• lifeline — a service or route on which people depend for survival
• lifelong — lasting for the whole of a person’s life
• lifespan — the length of time a person or thing lives or lasts
• lifestyle — the way in which a person or group habitually lives
• lifetime — the whole duration of a person’s life or a thing’s usefulness
• lightning — an electrical discharge from a thundercloud to the ground
• likelihood — the chance of something happening
• limbo — an uncertain state of waiting with no resolution
• limelight — the focus of public attention
• limestone — a sedimentary rock used in cement and in correcting acidic soil
• limitation — a restriction; the legal time limit for bringing a claim
• linchpin — the person or thing that holds an arrangement together
• lineage — descent from an ancestor; ancestry
• linger — to remain longer than expected
• lingua franca — a common language used between speakers of different tongues
• linguistic — relating to language
• linkage — a connection established between two systems or processes
• liquidate — to wind up a company, or to convert assets into cash
• liquidation — the winding up of a company by realising and distributing its assets
• liquidator — the officer appointed to wind up a company’s affairs
• liquidity — the availability of cash or of assets easily turned into cash
• liquor — alcoholic drink, especially distilled spirits
• listing — the formal admission of a company’s shares to a stock exchange
• listless — lacking energy or interest
• litany — a long and tedious recital of complaints
• literacy — the ability to read and write
• literal — taking words in their basic sense, without metaphor
• literary — relating to literature and its writing
• literate — able to read and write
• lithosphere — the rigid outer shell of the earth
• litigant — a person engaged in a lawsuit
• litigate — to contest a matter in a court of law
• litigation — the process of taking a dispute to court
• litigious — unreasonably ready to take disputes to court
• litter — rubbish left lying in a public place
• littoral — relating to the shore of a sea or lake
• liveability — the degree to which a place is fit and pleasant to live in
• livelihood — the means of securing the necessities of life
• livestock — farm animals kept for use or profit
• livid — extremely angry
• loam — fertile soil in which sand, silt and clay are well balanced
• loan — a sum of money lent that must be repaid with interest
• loath — unwilling or reluctant to do something
• loathe — to feel intense dislike for something
• lobby — to try to influence policymakers in favour of a cause
• lobbying — organised effort to influence policymakers in favour of an interest
• lobbyist — a person engaged to influence legislation or policy
• localise — to confine something to a particular area
• locality — a particular area or neighbourhood
• lockdown — an official restriction on movement and public activity
• lockout — the closing of a workplace by the employer during a dispute
• locus — the standing or right of a person to approach a court
• lodestar — a guiding principle by which action is steered
• lodge — to formally submit a complaint or claim
• lodging — temporary accommodation provided to someone
• lofty — noble and elevated; arrogantly superior
• logbook — a register in which movements or events are entered daily
• logical — following sound reasoning
• logistics — the detailed organisation of a complex operation
• logjam — a deadlock in which nothing can move forward
• loiter — to stand about idly without purpose
• long-term — extending over or concerned with a long period
• longevity — long life or long duration of service
• longitude — the angular distance of a place east or west of the prime meridian
• longstanding — having existed for a long time
• loom — to appear as an approaching threat
• loophole — a gap in a law or rule that allows it to be evaded
• loosen — to make less tight or less strict
• loot — goods seized by force or fraud; to plunder
• lopsided — uneven, with one side much heavier than the other
• loquacious — tending to talk a great deal
• lottery — an allotment decided by the drawing of lots
• lowland — low-lying country, especially near a river or the coast
• loyalty — firm allegiance to a person, cause or institution
• lucid — clear and easy to understand
• lucrative — producing a great deal of profit
• ludicrous — so absurd as to be laughable
• lukewarm — showing little enthusiasm
• lull — a temporary period of quiet or reduced activity
• luminary — a person who inspires or influences others in a field
• lurch — to move or shift suddenly and unsteadily
• lure — to tempt someone into a course of action
• lurk — to remain hidden, waiting to act
• luxury — a state of great comfort, or something inessential and costly
• lynching — the killing of a person by a mob without trial