From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishleafleaf1 /liːf/ ●●● S2 W2 noun (plural leaves /liːvz/) 1 plant [countable]HBP one of the flat green parts of a plant that are joined to its stem or branches a flowering bush with large shiny leavesleaf of Add a few leaves of fresh basil to the salad.be in leaf/come into leaf (=have or start growing leaves, at a particular time of year) The forest was just coming into leaf.2 → take a leaf out of somebody’s book3 → turn over a new leaf4 page [countable] formalTCN a page of a book He slipped the letter between the leaves of his notebook. → loose-leaf, overleaf5 part of table [countable]DCJ a part of the top of a table that can be taken out to make the table smaller → shake like a leaf at shake1(2)COLLOCATIONSverbsthe leaves turn red/brown etc (=become red, brown etc)The maple leaves had turned a fiery red.the leaves fallAll the leaves had fallen off the tree.a tree loses/sheds its leaves (=the leaves come off the tree)Most trees shed their leaves in the autumn.sweep (up) the leaves (=tidy away fallen leaves using a brush)Jack was sweeping leaves in the back garden. ADJECTIVES/NOUN + leaf a green/brown/yellow etc leafthe deep green leaves of the coconut treesa dead leafThe ground beneath the tree was covered in dead leaves.fallen leaves (=that have fallen off the trees)The children were jumping in piles of fallen leaves. autumn leaves (also fall leaves American English) (=leaves that have changed colour or fallen in autumn)I love the colours of the autumn leaves.an oak/vine/spinach etc leaf (=a leaf from a specific plant or tree)Vine leaves stuffed with rice is a typical Greek dish.phrasesbe in leaf especially literary (=have leaves)By this time, most of the trees were in leaf.come into leaf (=start having leaves)The apple tree had finally come into leaf.
Examples from the Corpus
leaf• Experts disagree on the best way of preserving the medicinal strength of its roots and leaves.• Every leaf was picked out in golden radiance.• And did I not, at fifty, put out a whole new crop of leaves myself?• Turn the leaf over and use a sharp knife to cut each of the main veins on the leaf.• When the leaves being to fall, it's time to think about the Section 9's and the Section 10's.• the leaves of a maple tree• The leaves are evergreen or semi-evergreen since they can be heavily defoliated in severe winters.• When the rain passed, the limbs of the wet trees were darker and their leaves were greener.leafleaf2 verb → leaf through something→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
leaf• Nigel leafed through a few large-print Agatha Christies but was put off by the noxious inexplicable stains on the pages.• He leafed through a pile of documents until he found a sheet of paper torn from an exercise book.• But just the simple act of leafing through and talking about a book can help.• He leafed through his papers, then, with a glance at Sonny, raised his eyebrows expectantly.• I leaf through the pages again that night.Origin leaf1 Old English 