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Let   /lɛt/   Listen
verb
Let  v. t.  To retard; to hinder; to impede; to oppose. (Archaic) "He was so strong that no man might him let." "He who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way." "Mine ancient wound is hardly whole, And lets me from the saddle."



Let  v. t.  (past & past part. let, obs. letted; pres. part. letting)  
1.
To leave; to relinquish; to abandon. (Obs. or Archaic, except when followed by alone or be.) "He... prayed him his voyage for to let." "Yet neither spins nor cards, ne cares nor frets, But to her mother Nature all her care she lets." "Let me alone in choosing of my wife."
2.
To consider; to think; to esteem. (Obs.)
3.
To cause; to make; used with the infinitive in the active form but in the passive sense; as, let make, i. e., cause to be made; let bring, i. e., cause to be brought. (Obs.) "This irous, cursed wretch Let this knight's son anon before him fetch." "He... thus let do slay hem all three." "Anon he let two coffers make."
4.
To permit; to allow; to suffer; either affirmatively, by positive act, or negatively, by neglecting to restrain or prevent. Note: In this sense, when followed by an infinitive, the latter is commonly without the sign to; as to let us walk, i. e., to permit or suffer us to walk. Sometimes there is entire omission of the verb; as, to let (to be or to go) loose. "Pharaoh said, I will let you go." "If your name be Horatio, as I am let to know it is."
5.
To allow to be used or occupied for a compensation; to lease; to rent; to hire out; often with out; as, to let a farm; to let a house; to let out horses.
6.
To give, grant, or assign, as a work, privilege, or contract; often with out; as, to let the building of a bridge; to let out the lathing and the plastering. Note: The active form of the infinitive of let, as of many other English verbs, is often used in a passive sense; as, a house to let (i. e., for letting, or to be let). This form of expression conforms to the use of the Anglo-Saxon gerund with to (dative infinitive) which was commonly so employed. See Gerund, 2. " Your elegant house in Harley Street is to let." In the imperative mood, before the first person plural, let has a hortative force. " Rise up, let us go." " Let us seek out some desolate shade."
To let alone, to leave; to withdraw from; to refrain from interfering with.
To let blood, to cause blood to flow; to bleed.
To let down.
(a)
To lower.
(b)
To soften in tempering; as, to let down tools, cutlery, and the like.
To let fly or To let drive, to discharge with violence, as a blow, an arrow, or stone. See under Drive, and Fly.
To let in or To let into.
(a)
To permit or suffer to enter; to admit.
(b)
To insert, or imbed, as a piece of wood, in a recess formed in a surface for the purpose.
To let loose, to remove restraint from; to permit to wander at large.
To let off.
(a)
To discharge; to let fly, as an arrow; to fire the charge of, as a gun.
(b)
To release, as from an engagement or obligation. (Colloq.)
To let out.
(a)
To allow to go forth; as, to let out a prisoner.
(b)
To extend or loosen, as the folds of a garment; to enlarge; to suffer to run out, as a cord.
(c)
To lease; to give out for performance by contract, as a job.
(d)
To divulge.
To let slide, to let go; to cease to care for. (Colloq.) " Let the world slide."



Let  v. i.  (past & past part. let, obs. letted; pres. part. letting)  
1.
To forbear. (Obs.)
2.
To be let or leased; as, the farm lets for $500 a year. See note under Let, v. t.
To let on, to tell; to tattle; to divulge something. (Low)
To let up, to become less severe; to diminish; to cease; as, when the storm lets up. (Colloq.)



noun
Let  n.  
1.
A retarding; hindrance; obstacle; impediment; delay; common in the phrase without let or hindrance, but elsewhere archaic. "Consider whether your doings be to the let of your salvation or not."
2.
(Lawn Tennis) A stroke in which a ball touches the top of the net in passing over.






Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48








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"Let" Quotes from Famous Books



... coat of arms features a shield with a golden lion centered; the shield is supported by a fur seal on the left and a penguin on the right; a reindeer appears above the shield, and below it on a scroll is the motto LEO TERRAM PROPRIAM PROTEGAT (Let the Lion ...
— The 2008 CIA World Factbook • United States. Central Intelligence Agency.

... "Louis—please don't let me be chopped up," she sobbed. He held her as though he would snatch her out of life and pain and danger. But he did not know what ...
— Captivity • M. Leonora Eyles

... I was to tell you that it was no use; he must do what his father wished before he died." He caught her by the waist. "Come, child, don't let them hurt you. They're ...
— Forsyte Saga • John Galsworthy

... learn much more from the books in your library and from the dogs and horses than I can at school, besides being a thousand times happier; and oh, Dad, if you will let me have a forge and workshop, I will make no end ...
— The Fat of the Land - The Story of an American Farm • John Williams Streeter

... British Convention should meet near the borders of England and Scotland. Thereupon Gerrald proposed that York should be chosen, despite its ecclesiastical surroundings; for (said he), "as the Saviour of the world was often found in the company of sinners, let us go there for the same gracious purpose, ...
— William Pitt and the Great War • John Holland Rose


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