Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
to leave at that

to leave at that

4.6
Stop discussing a topic and not talk about it more
  • phrasal verb
translation icon : dejarlo así
  • After reaching an agreement, the team chose to leave at that and not revisit the issue.

He's talking about being so happy with life that you leave at that point, ending on a dub.

Examples

  • It was a sensitive topic, so we agreed to leave at that and not delve deeper into it.

  • Oh, let us leave at that.

    Heartbreakers (2001)

  • He's talking about being so happy with life that you leave at that point, ending on a dub.

    IMPAULSIVE

  • We discussed the problem for a while, but we decided to just leave at that and move on.

Synonyms

to leave it at that
vsto leave at that
49 5.3

To stop talking about an issue and accept it as it is

is the same idea but uses a slightly different phrasing
that's that
vsto leave at that
  • Informal
37 5.1

A final decision that cannot be changed or discussed

ends the topic now without stressing legal or permanent finality
to say no more
vsto leave at that
  • Informal
3 4.9

To stop talking because more words are not needed or would not be right

ends discussion directly rather than asking for silence
to drop the topic
vsto leave at that
3.3

To stop talking about a subject

ends the conversation at that point and leaves the matter

Antonyms

to revisit
72 3.7

To return to an idea or topic to think about it again

to keep the conversation going
4 3.4

Make people continue talking so the talk does not stop

How Discussed

debate
  • Formal
∞ 2.0
to discuss
∞ 1.6
to investigate
∞ 2.8
to mention
∞ 1.0
to leave at that
4.6

Surface Forms

leave at that infinitive
left at that past
left at that past participle
leaving at that present participle
leaves at that third person singular

Morphology

leave + at + that

The meaning 'to stop discussing or considering something further' is directly derivable from 'leave' (to let remain or not continue) combined with the locative/adverbial sense of 'at that' (at that point/state). This is a straightforward compositional pattern (often seen as 'leave it at that') with clear cross-linguistic parallels, so a B1 learner who knows the parts will likely infer the meaning.

Etymology

Leave at that gives a clear image: you leave a topic at that point and walk away. So, it means 'to stop discussing or considering something further'.