let

1 of 4

verb (1)

ˈlet

let; letting

Synonyms of let next

transitive verb

: to cause to : make

let me know

: to give opportunity to or fail to prevent

live and let live

a break in the clouds let us see the summit

let the opportunity slip

—used in the imperative to introduce a request or proposal

let us pray

—used as an auxiliary to express a warning

let him try

: to free from or as if from confinement

let out a scream

let blood

: to permit to enter, pass, or leave

let them through

let them off with a warning

chiefly British : to offer or grant for rent or lease

let rooms

: to assign especially after bids

let a contract

: to make an adjustment to

let out the waist

intransitive verb

chiefly British : to become rented or leased

: to become awarded to a contractor

let

2 of 4

noun

: something that impedes : obstruction

ruled his little world without hindrance or let—

B. F. Reilly

: a shot or point in racket games that does not count and must be replayed

let

3 of 4

verb (2)

letted; letted or let; letting

transitive verb

archaic

: hinder, prevent

-let

4 of 4

noun suffix

: small one

booklet

: article worn on

wristlet

Phrases

let alone

: to leave undisturbed

let the flowers alone

also : to leave to oneself

wanted to be let alone

let fly

: to hurl an object

: to give unrestrained expression to an emotion or utterance

let fly with some sharp rebukes—

Janice Castro

let go

: to relax or release one's hold

—used with of

let go of stress—

Kathy McCoy

let go of my arm

: to abandon self-restraint : let fly

spoke in clipped sentences, as if fearful of letting go—

David Kline

there just to party, just to let go—

Philippe Vergne

: to dismiss from employment

the firm let him go at the end of the month

: to fail to take care of : neglect

let himself go and got real fat—

Bill Parcells

let it all hang out

: to reveal one's true feelings : act without dissimulation

let one have it

: to subject to vigorous assault

let one's hair down

: to act without pretense or self-restraint

let rip

: to utter or release without restraint

let 'er rip

: to do or utter something without restraint

let rip at the press

let the cat out of the bag

: to give away a secret

Choose the Right Synonym for let

hire, let, lease, rent, charter mean to engage or grant for use at a price.

hire and let, strictly speaking, are complementary terms, hire implying the act of engaging or taking for use and let the granting of use.

we hired a car for the summer

decided to let the cottage to a young couple

lease strictly implies a letting under the terms of a contract but is often applied to hiring on a lease.

the diplomat leased an apartment for a year

rent stresses the payment of money for the full use of property and may imply either hiring or letting.

instead of buying a house, they decided to rent

will not rent to families with children

charter applies to the hiring or letting of a vehicle usually for exclusive use.

charter a bus to go to the game

Examples of let in a Sentence

Verb (1) my parents would not let me drive until I had a job and could pay for my own gas the pensioner has begun letting rooms in her home to earn some extra money the low gravity on the moon lets you make enormous leaps and jumps they let their kids get away with murder Noun The first serve was a let. artists are allowed to sell their goods in the public square without let or hindrance

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Going on a short spacewalk to do that would mean leaving the safety of the vehicle, Isaacman said, but such an enhancement would let the telescope take better advantage of the longer lifespan that an orbital boost would give it. —

Nell Greenfieldboyce, NPR, 16 May 2024 Named after the lawmaker who introduced it, Tiahrt bars the ATF from letting the public see most trace information about guns used in crimes. —

John Kelly, CBS News, 16 May 2024 This does what the name suggests, giving users a way to navigate through and activate the elements of an app, just by letting the front-facing camera track their eye movements. —

David Meyer, Fortune, 16 May 2024 But their parents were there to do a very good job of that, letting everyone know what was okay and not okay for them. —

Gerrad Hall, EW.com, 16 May 2024 Putting on for Eritrea and letting people know, Hey, this is a country! —

Kyle Denis, Billboard, 16 May 2024 This year there will be no contested votes or losers, with opaque deals done that let FIFA announce last October its preferred only candidate for each of the 2030 and 2034 tournaments. —

Graham Dunbar, Fortune Europe, 15 May 2024 Still, activists and leaders are not letting the rollbacks happen in silence. —

Ayen Deng Bior, The Christian Science Monitor, 15 May 2024 Microsoft won’t let police departments use generative AI offered through its Azure OpenAI cloud services to perform facial recognition. —

Alexandra Sternlicht, Fortune, 3 May 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'let.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb (1)

Middle English leten, from Old English lǣtan; akin to Old High German lāzzan to permit, and perhaps to Lithuanian lėnas tranquil

Verb (2)

Middle English letten, from Old English lettan to delay, hinder; akin to Old High German lezzen to delay, hurt, Old English lǣt late

Noun suffix

Middle English, from Middle French -elet, from -el, diminutive suffix (from Latin -ellus) + -et

First Known Use

Verb (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun

12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb (2)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of let was before the 12th century

See more words from the same century

Phrases Containing let

Cite this Entry

Style

“Let.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/let. Accessed 19 May. 2024.

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Kids Definition

let

1 of 3 noun

ˈlet

: something that interferes : obstacle

without let or hindrance

let

2 of 3 verb

let; letting

: to cause to : make

let it be known

chiefly British : to give use of in return for payment

rooms to let

: to allow or permit to

let them go

—used to introduce a request

let us hope for the best

: to allow to go or pass

let them through

-let

3 of 3 noun suffix

lət

: small one

booklet

: something worn on

anklet

Etymology

Noun suffix

derived from early French -elet "small one," from -el and -et, both suffixes meaning "small"

Legal Definition

let

verb

let; letting

transitive verb

: to offer or grant for rent, lease, or hire : lease

may not be alienated, let, or encumbered

corporeal things may be let out

: to assign especially after bids

were attempting to let a contract without going through the bidding process—

Union Springs Tel. Co. v. Rowell, 623 So. 2d 732 (1993)

intransitive verb

: to become rented, leased, or hired

: to become awarded to a contractor

Last Updated: 19 May 2024 - Updated example sentences

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let

verb (1)

noun

verb (2)

noun suffix

Synonyms

Examples of let in a Sentence

Word History

Dictionary Entries Near let

Cite this Entry

Kids Definition

Legal Definition