leese

L1E1E1S1E1
/liːz/

verb

To lose.

OriginMiddle English lesen ← Old English lēosan ← Proto-West Germanic *leusan →
UncommonScrabble 5
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Meanings

leese1

verbleese (third-person singular simple present leeses, present participle leesing, simple past lore or leesed, past participle lorn or leesed)

present singular third person leeses · participle present leesing · past lore · past leesed · participle past lorn · participle past leesed · alternative lese

  1. obsoleteTo lose.

    They would rather leese their friend than their jest.

    a. 1598, William Cecil, Advice to his son
    3 more examples

    But flowers distill'd though they with winter meet, Leese but their show; their substance still lives sweet.

    1609, William Shakespeare, “Sonnet 5”, in Shake-speares Sonnets. […], London: By G[eorge] Eld for T[homas] T[horpe] and are to be sold by William Aspley, →OCLC

    Yet better leave off with a little losse, Then by much wrestling to leese the grosse

    1579, Immeritô [pseudonym; Edmund Spenser], “September. Ægloga Nona.”, in The Shepheardes Calender: […], London: […] Hugh Singleton, […], →OCLC

    Take heed you leeſe it not Signior, ere you come there: preſerue it.

    1599 (first performance), B. I. [i.e., Ben Jonson], The Comicall Satyre of Euery Man out of His Humor. […], London: […] [Adam Islip] for William Holme, […], published 1600, →OCLC, Act V, scene i, signature O iij, recto
  2. obsoleteTo destroy.
  3. obsoleteTo forsake or abandon.

leese2

verbleese (third-person singular simple present leeses, present participle leesing, simple past and past participle leesed)

present singular third person leeses · participle present leesing · participle past leesed · past leesed · alternative lease

  1. obsoletetransitiveTo release; let go; set free.
  2. obsoleteTo loosen, unfasten.

leese3

verb
  1. obsoletetransitiveTo hurt.

Leese4

proper nounLeese (plural Leeses)

plural Leeses

  1. A surname.

Origin

leese · verb

  1. Proto-Indo-European*lews-“to cut; sever; separate; loosen; lose”
  2. Proto-Germanic*leusaną“to lose”
  3. Proto-West Germanic*leusan
  4. Old Englishlēosan
  5. Middle Englishlesen
  6. Englishleese

From Middle English lesen, from Old English lēosan, from Proto-West Germanic *leusan, from Proto-Germanic *leusaną (“to lose”), from Proto-Indo-European *lews- (“to cut; sever; separate; loosen; lose”).

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic

Full word history & related roots →

leese · verb

  1. Proto-Germanic*lausijaną“to release, loosen”
  2. Old Englishlȳsan
  3. Middle Englishlesen
  4. Englishleese

From Middle English lesen, from Old English lȳsan, līesan (“to loosen, release, redeem, deliver, liberate”), from Proto-Germanic *lausijaną (“to release, loosen”). Cognate with Dutch lozen, German lösen, Swedish lösa.

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-Germanic

Full word history & related roots →

leese · verb

Compare French léser, Latin laesus.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with leese

pleasediseasefeesJapanesetreeskeysexpertiseoverseaseasePortugueseBelizeprixVietnameseLouisefreezebreezeteespressqueezeLebanesefriesteaseseizeMaltese
All rhymes →

Sounds the same

leesleasleesleasleesleas
Cite this entry
APA

leese. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/leese

MLA

“leese.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/leese. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “leese,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/leese.

Source: leese on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.