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Glite Dictionary
leavings

leavings

5.1
Small pieces of food and other things left after people eat or use them
  • noun
  • /ˈliːvɪŋz/
translation icon : sobras
  • The chef discarded the vegetable leavings after preparing the soup.

They went to schools in which they got the leavings of the white folks.

Examples

  • They went to schools in which they got the leavings of the white folks.

    Lex Fridman

  • It gives such divine materials to men, and accepts such leavings from them at last.

  • See that right in here, which is leavings from insects?

  • And then I had like little Moss leavings on the table.

  • After dinner, the leavings were carefully wrapped and put away for tomorrow's lunch.

  • The animal scavengers came to clean up the leavings from the picnic.

Synonyms

leftover
vsleavings
187 1.7

A small amount of food remaining after a meal

is more general and applies beyond small or food portions
scrap
vsleavings
179 2.1

A small piece left over or thrown away

describes leftover parts without implying they are waste or discardable
residue
vsleavings
148 4.1

A small amount left on something after most is removed

can mean fuller remaining pieces, not only tiny leftover amounts
remnant
vsleavings
104 4.2

A small piece, often cloth, left when the rest is used or thrown away

is broader, applying to any remaining parts rather than only tiny scraps
remains
vsleavings
86 3.6

Things left after the rest is used, eaten, or taken away

is the everyday plural term for physical parts left after use or removal
remainder
vsleavings
74 2.7

The part left after the other parts are used or removed

focuses on physical pieces left behind rather than an abstract leftover amount
residuum
vsleavings
1 9.9

A part that remains after the main parts are removed or used

covers ordinary pieces left after use, not only formally important leftovers
leftovers
vsleavings
1.0

Food remaining after a meal that you save to eat later

is the wider term for any parts or pieces left after use

How Much

remains
86 3.6
leftovers
1.0
leavings
5.1
remnant
104 4.2
scraps
1.0

Surface Forms

leavings plural

Morphology

leavings = leaving (semi-transparent) = leave + ing + s

The plural form is straightforward, but the noun sense 'remnants/leftovers' is only moderately predictable from leave + -ing.

Etymology

Leavings comes from the word leave plus the ending -ing, where leave means 'to go away' or 'to let something remain'. So leavings are the things that are 'left behind', like 'leftovers' after a meal.