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to leaf

to leaf

9 6.5
To turn pages quickly without reading everything
  • verb
  • /liːf/
: hojear
  • I spent the afternoon leafing through old photo albums, reminiscing about my childhood.
  • leaf through the pages
  • leaf through a book
  • leaf through stories

Examples

  • As she reminisces, she leafs through photographs, tinted brown or faded with age.

    Academic text (1999)
  • McLeod picked up the sketch pad and leafed through the drawings again.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • 'I opened the book, leafed through, 'and sat down as my eye was caught by her name.

  • "Romanian?" He took the stack of letters from me and began to leaf through them.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • Then she sat down on the couch and leafed through the book.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • Jackie sat stolidly in the lobby that afternoon, leafing through tourist brochures in search of possible shooting sites.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • Sayer and Miss Costello are leafing through them. Sayer considers one's original admission forms.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • Jurina picks up the story as he leafs through bulging files of press cuttings covering the dig.

    Academic text (2005)
  • While waiting for his appointment, he leafed through a magazine that was lying on the table.

  • She leafed through the pages of the book quickly, searching for the section on gardening tips.

Synonyms

to flip
vsto leaf
547 1.8

To turn or toss something quickly with a light hand movement

is specifically about quick turning in reading contexts rather than general motion
to skim
vsto leaf
37 2.7

Read something quickly without looking at details

is more about quick physical turning than quick reading
to thumb
vsto leaf
8 5.8

To turn the pages of a book quickly while only looking a little

is broader quick turning, not limited to mere glances
to page
vsto leaf
7 2.7

To look through a book or magazine quickly

is focused on quick motion rather than searching intent
to skim over
vsto leaf
3 3.8

To read quickly without looking at details

is oriented to the action of turning rather than reading focus
to flick
vsto leaf
  • UK
3 2.8

To look quickly through the pages of a book or magazine

is the general quick turning that skips most text
to riffle
vsto leaf
2 6.5

To turn pages quickly or move thin things with a light quick motion

is ordinary quick turning without the fluttering feel
to dip into
vsto leaf
1 5.1

Read parts of a book or magazine rather than all of it

is about moving through without reading each section

Idioms

2 4.6

To tremble a lot because you are afraid, nervous, or cold

Copy what someone does to get the same results

Compounds

10 2.3

A dried leaf that flavors soups and stews

A small green plant with four leaves that people think brings luck

8 4.3

Very thin sheets of gold used to decorate objects and food

fig leaf
  • Informal
7 6.7

Something used to hide a wrong or embarrassing action

5 1.0

A dried leaf from the tea plant used to make a hot drink

4 2.7

A large lobed leaf from a fig tree

4 1.0

A broad leaf from an oak tree with deep rounded edges

3 1.0

A young leaf that has just started to grow on a plant

An herb with flat broad leaves that people use in cooking for its strong flavor

1 2.3

A type of lettuce with loose, curled leaves used in salads

maple-leaf
  • Canadian
1 3.3

A red leaf shape that represents Canada on its flag

1 7.3

A small bee that cuts pieces of leaves to line its nest

leaf lard
  • Specialized
1 8.7

A soft, good quality pig fat from around the kidneys that people use in baking

leaf spring
  • Specialized
1 6.4

A long set of metal strips under a vehicle that absorbs shocks

leaf mold
  • Specialized
1 4.9

Soil made mostly of dead leaves that have rotted to help plants grow

leaf shape
  • Specialized
1 2.8

The outline of a leaf that helps identify plants

1 6.7

A small bright insect that feeds on plant juices, often on leaves

1 4.0

A badge shaped like a leaf from an oak tree worn to show rank or honor

1 3.2

A small leaf used in South Indian and Sri Lankan cooking to add a strong smell and taste

betel leaf
  • Indian
1 7.7

A green leaf from a vine used in Asia for chewing with a nut or tobacco

leaf miner
  • Specialized
1 7.1

A baby insect that lives inside leaves and makes pale tunnels or spots

A bat with a leaflike flap of skin on its nose that helps it find food at night

1 8.6

A small metal pin attached to a medal to show the person received that medal again

pinnate leaf
  • Specialized
1 7.1

A leaf with smaller leaves along a central stem like a feather

1 9.1

A layer of fat around a pig's kidneys used to make lard

leaf scorch
  • Specialized
1 7.6

Leaves with brown edges that look burned from heat, drought or poor watering

1 3.5

A small part on a branch that grows into leaves not flowers

1 7.0

A leaf from the sassafras tree that adds flavor to food and drinks

short-leaf pine
  • Specialized
1 7.4

A large pine tree with short needles that grows in the southern United States

1 6.7

A small brightly colored beetle that eats plant leaves and whose young damage roots and stems

1 3.2

A problem that makes a plant's leaves sick or damaged

1 6.8

A plant disease that makes leaves turn brown and fall early

1 7.8

A hinged part of a table you lift to make more space

A table with sides that fold down to save space and lift up to make it larger

big-leaf maple
  • Specialized
1 6.0

A large western North American tree with very big leaves that have five parts and turn orange in autumn

1 4.6

A leaf with deep cuts that make rounded or pointed parts, like an oak leaf

1 3.7

A broad flat part of a leaf that is not the stalk

1 5.9

A leaf with edges like small saw teeth pointing toward the tip

compound leaf
  • Specialized
1 5.4

A flat plant part divided into several small leaflets joined to one stalk

elliptic leaf
  • Specialized
1 6.9

A leaf shaped like a long oval that is widest in the middle and narrows equally to each end

A type of lettuce with loose leaves that do not form a head

oblong leaf
  • Specialized
1 4.4

A leaf longer than it is wide with nearly parallel sides and rounded ends

seed leaf
  • Specialized
1 5.5

First leaf or pair of leaves inside a seed that feed the young plant

1 9.9

A tree from tropical America with shiny leaves, hard wood, and small purple fruit

1 2.3

Gathering fallen leaves with a rake

leaf insect
  • Indian
1 6.3

An insect that looks like a leaf to hide among leaves

leaf node
  • Specialized
1 7.0

A small bump on a stem where leaves grow

simple leaf
  • Specialized
1 3.5

A single flat leaf blade not divided into leaflets

leaf roller
  • Specialized
1 8.4

A small moth whose caterpillars roll leaves and tie them with silk to make a nest

1 3.5

A vegetable with large green leaves and thick stalks that people grow for its edible stems and leaves

1 9.1

A low plant with heart-shaped leaves that grows in shady places

palmate leaf
  • Specialized
1 6.5

A leaf with parts that spread from one point like an open hand

lanceolate leaf
  • Specialized
1 8.2

A long narrow leaf that is widest in the middle and pointed at both ends

narrow-leaf cattail
  • Specialized
1 7.3

A tall marsh plant with long narrow leaves and a brown flower head

entire leaf
  • Specialized
1 6.7

A leaf with a smooth edge and no teeth or notches

floral leaf
  • Specialized
1 6.1

A part of a flower that looks like a petal or sepal

A large insect that feeds on plant juices and has leaf-shaped parts on its back legs

A small evergreen shrub or tree with spiny leaves and white flowers

ovate leaf
  • Specialized
1 6.4

A leaf shaped like an egg with the wider end at the base

1 9.0

A small black insect whose young live inside birch leaves and eat them

1 5.6

The shape of a plant leaf that helps identify species

A bee that cuts pieces from leaves to make its nest

1 9.9

A small herb with round yellow flowers and a strong smell that people use to flavor food or tea

peltate leaf
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A round leaf with the stem attached near the middle, like a nasturtium leaf

single-leaf
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A pine tree with one needle per bundle that makes nuts people eat

deltoid leaf
  • Specialized
1 7.5

A leaf shaped like a triangle with a broad base and pointed tip

elongate leaf
  • Specialized
1 5.6

A long thin leaf that is much longer than it is wide

A large insect that sucks plant sap and has leaflike hind legs

leaf-book
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A very old book made of loose pages rather than a scroll

1 9.1

A pale blotched desert snake with a short blunt nose from southwestern North America that is not dangerous to people

single-leaf pinyon
  • Specialized
1 7.9

A small pine tree with one needle in each group and edible nuts, native to the United States southwest

1 8.6

A plant with large soft leaves that feel like velvet

bijugate leaf
  • Specialized
9.9

A leaf that has two pairs of leaflets on its stalk

How Fast

to scan
131 2.7
to leaf
9 6.5
to skim
37 2.7
to page
7 2.7
browse
1 4.1
to look through
152 2.8

Surface Forms

leaf infinitive
leaved past
leaved past participle
leafing present participle
leaves third person singular

Etymology

Leaf as a verb (to 'leaf through') comes from pages being like 'leaves' of a book, so to leaf through is to turn those flat pieces quickly. In other words, to leaf through a book is to move the pages fast without reading every word.