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# leaf

«leaf» in Mova's school dictionary: **one of the flat, usually green parts that grow on a plant…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (leaf, leaves); verb (leaf through, leafs, leafed, leafing)

### meaning for a pupil

1) A leaf is one of the flat, usually green parts that grow on a plant or tree. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/leaf/#m1)

2) A leaf is also one sheet of paper in a book, with a page on each side. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/leaf/#m2)

3) To leaf through a book is to turn its pages quickly without reading closely. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/leaf/#m3)

4) A leaf of a table is an extra flat piece that makes it bigger. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/leaf/#m4)

### sense in the lessons

In maths, leaves are things counted on plants or trees; leaves per plant is a group size, and falling leaves are taken away. In science, leaves make food for the plant from sunlight, water and air (photosynthesis), and many trees drop their leaves in autumn (fall). Phrases: «turn over a new leaf» (start behaving better), «take a leaf out of someone's book» (copy their good example).

### examples

- The plant has 12 leaves. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/leaf/#x1)
- 5 leaves fell off. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/leaf/#x2)
- Each clover has 3 leaves. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/leaf/#x3)
- How many leaves are on 4 clovers? [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/leaf/#x4)
- In autumn the maple leaves turn red and orange. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/leaf/#x5)
- Leaves use sunlight to make food for the plant. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/leaf/#x6)
- We raked the leaves into a big pile and jumped in it. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/leaf/#x7)
- She leafed through the comic book in the library. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/leaf/#x8)
- A four-leaf clover is said to bring good luck. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/leaf/#x9)
- He promised to turn over a new leaf and do his homework on time. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/leaf/#x10)
- Round about him, not a leaf stirred. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/leaf/#x11)

### note

The plural is «leaves», which is also a form of the verb «leave» (he leaves at eight). The verb «to leaf» has «leafs, leafed». Evergreen trees keep their leaves all year. Maths: leaves per plant × plants gives the total; falling leaves subtract.

### In the corpora

- [Green algae grow in a sloth's fur and help to hide it among the leaves.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/2-the-rainforest-from-the-top/9/)
- [Leafcutter ants do not eat the leaves they carry: they chew them to grow a fungus garden underground and eat the fungus.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/36-insects-six-legs-ants-bees-and-wasps/9/)
- [An onion is a bulb whose layers are swollen leaves storing food for next year's growth.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/57-roots-stems-and-leaves/13/)
- [Deer see fewer colours than we do, so to them an orange tiger looks much like the green and brown leaves around it.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/81-big-cats-house-lions-and-tigers/11/)
- [Wild chimpanzees make tools: they fish for termites with stripped twigs, crack nuts with stones and use leaves as sponges.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/84-ape-house-gorillas-and-chimpanzees/7/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «leaf» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/leaf/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.