to lean against
85
1.4
- phrasal verb
- /lin əˈɡɛnst/
:
apoyarse en
- After a long day of hiking, he leaned against a tree to catch his breath.
- lean against a wall
- sit and lean against a wall
- lean back against a wall
My eyes are closed, just leaning against my neck pillow, relaxing.
- My eyes are closed, just leaning against my neck pillow, relaxing.
- Is that door leaning against a wall?
- So you're standing, I'm perching, I'm leaning up against a bar stool with my feet on the ground.
- At the far end, he can make out two men smoking, leaning against the car right next to his.
- I would set the shower head on massage mode like the single hard stream and lean against the wall and just let it blast on me.
- And then and I was thinking maybe if you don't use it with your hands, but if you maybe step on it or lean against it.
- Anyway, I went walking in the greatest part of this city, Central Park, leaned against the tree and started to read the craziest script.
- If I started, if I'd be sitting out on the ground leaning against the, I don't know, the sandbag wall or something, reading a book.
- But in my hospital stays, there came moments when I put my head against my arm, leaning against a wall, and wept and wept, sobbed.
Examples
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Relief and the first gentle waves of Xanax made her feel faint, and she leaned against the wall.
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Julian had come out of his study to lean against the far rail.
Fiction book (1990) -
Anybody feels sick, anybody got heart trouble, go ahead and lean against the wall.
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Now lean against the chair.
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Just lean it carefully against the wall for now.
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Stand up and lean against that counter.
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You lean against the lamp.
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Look, I'm just a guy leaning against wall, no big deal.
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I usually like to lean up against the window but now that you're here.
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I stopped three meters from the phone and leaned against the wall.
Academic text (2007)
Synonyms
182
1.0
To put something on or against something so it stays steady
61
1.8
To rest against someone or something for support
Antonyms
How Supported
Surface Forms
Morphology
lean + against
The meaning 'to rest your body lightly on something for support' is directly and compositionally derived from 'lean' (to bend or rest at an angle) combined with 'against' (in contact with or supported by). This is a common verb + preposition physical-contact construction found across languages and follows a straightforward, non-metaphorical logic that a B1 learner who knows both words can readily infer.
Etymology
The phrasal verb lean against comes from the clear image of someone using their body to lean and putting it against a wall, tree, or door to get support. So, it means 'to rest your body lightly on something for support or balance'.