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to leave behind

to leave behind

20 2.1
To not take or change something so it stays where it is
  • phrasal verb
  • /liːv bɪˈhaɪnd/
translation icon : dejar intacto
  • But what are you leaving behind?

And two, the work that we leave behind, that's what defines who we are.

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Examples

  • You have to leave behind normal.

  • I want to leave behind all of my achievements.

  • And be careful what you leave behind next time.

  • What about the others we're leaving behind?

  • "Could she leave behind the life she built for herself in New York?"

  • See, sometimes you have to leave behind what you were born into to become who... who God meant you to be.

  • "What would you like to leave behind?" he said.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • I left behind a career in medicine because I thought... that I could make a difference at the FBI.

  • And two, the work that we leave behind, that's what defines who we are.

  • He decided to leave behind his old life in the city to start fresh in the countryside.

Synonyms

to leave
vsto leave behind
1.6

To cause a feeling or result to remain after an event

focuses on not taking or interfering rather than on resulting mark
to leave alone
vsto leave behind
2.3

To avoid touching and disturbing a person, animal or object

has identical meaning and is the neutral common expression
to let it alone
vsto leave behind
2 3.0

Choose not to touch or change something

is similar but less about deliberate choice and more neutral
to leave it be
vsto leave behind
  • Informal
1 5.1

To let something stay as it is without changing it

is more general stressing not taking or removing something

Antonyms

1.0

Remove something from a place or person

493 2.5

To change something slightly or become different

487 3.5

To get involved in a situation and make things not work as they should

How Unchanged

to preserve
496 3.4
to safeguard
45 3.7
to leave behind
20 2.1

Surface Forms

leave behind infinitive
leaving behind present participle
leaves behind third person singular
left behind past participle

Morphology

leave + behind

The meaning 'to be survived by' follows directly from combining 'leave' (to go away or to cause something to remain) with 'behind' (remaining after departure): together they mean to cause something to remain after one leaves. This verb+particle composition is a common, cross-linguistic pattern and a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the death-related sense as a specific application of 'leaving something remaining.'

Etymology

The verb leave behind comes from a simple image: you walk through a garden and you leave the flowers behind, not taking or touching them. That's why it means 'to not take, alter, or interfere with something'.