leer
1 Americanverb (used without object)
noun
adjective
-
having no burden or load.
-
faint for lack of food; hungry.
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
- leering adjective
- leeringly adverb
Etymology
Origin of leer1
First recorded in 1520–30; perhaps verb use of obsolete noun leer “cheek” ( Middle English leor, Old English hlēor; cognate with Old Norse hlȳr (plural))
Origin of leer2
before 1050; Middle English lere, Old English gelǣr; cognate with German leer empty
Explanation
A leer is an unpleasant facial expression. A leer means the person doesn't like you, or even worse, does — in a creepy way. Leer can also be used as a verb, meaning "to look at someone with a suggestive, rude, or contemptuous expression." Your sworn enemy might leer at you whenever you enter a room to express scorn and superiority. Leer derives from the Old English word hleor, meaning "the face or the cheek."
Vocabulary lists containing leer
Where the Red Fern Grows
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Where the Mountain Meets the Moon
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Warriors Don't Cry
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
My remarks moved an apoplectic plaintiff’s lawyer to point across the room at his opposing counsel, leer in my direction, and ask, “So are you accusing me of colluding with him?”
From Slate • Jan. 13, 2026
"Ahhh did Emmy pee her pants?" they leer.
From Salon • Mar. 26, 2022
The dominant smile is layered in meaning; it’s an expression associated with feelings of superiority and pride but still more friendly than a frown or a leer.
From New York Times • Feb. 8, 2022
He was similarly positive about the film's villain as Lyutsifer Safin, writing: "Rami Malek, with mottled skin, an all-seeing leer, and the caressing voice of a depraved monk, makes him a hypnotic creep."
From BBC • Sep. 29, 2021
It was a taut leer, an evil thing, more threatening than a look of rage.
From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
