lever.noun,.plural.levers
a simple.machine.consisting of a rigid.bar.pivoted on a fixed point and used to transmit.force, as in raising or moving a weight at one end by pushing down on the other; a projecting handle used to adjust or operate a mechanism; a means of accomplishing; a tool (used friendship as a lever to obtain.advancement)
lever, levered, levering, levers.transitive verbs
to move or lift with or as if with a lever
leverage.noun,.plural.leverages
the action of a lever; the mechanical.advantage of a lever; leverage is the force that is applied to an object when something such as a lever is used; leverage is also the ability to influence.situations or people so that you can control what happens;.positional advantage (her father owned the company so she had social leverage to get into the job); in finances the manipulative use of credit or borrowed funds to improve one's speculative.capacity and increase the rate of return from an investment, as in buying.securities on margin
leverage, leveraged, leveraging, leverages.transitive verbs
to provide a company with leverage; to supplement.buying power, often in the form of money for example, with leverage; to affect as if by leverage
leveraged.adjective
having a high proportion of debt relative to equity; purchase of a company made with borrowed money that is secured by the assets of the company bought (a leveraged buyout); use borrowed capital for an investment, expecting the profits made to be greater than any interest payable

lug.noun,.plural.lug
a handle or projection used as a hold or support; a lug nut; a clumsy.fool; a lughead
lug, lugged, lugging, lugs.verbs
transitive verb use.to drag or haul an object.laboriously; to pull or drag with short jerks; to cause an engine, for example to run poorly or hesitate, straining it (if you drive too slowly in third gear, you'll lug the engine)
intransitive verb use.to pull something with difficulty; tug; to move along by jerks or as if under a heavy burden; to run poorly or hesitate because of strain (the motor lugged as they drove up the hill because they used regular gas in their car, never having read the manual which called for gas with a higher octane rating)
lug nut.noun,.plural.lug nuts
a heavy, rounded nut that fits over a bolt, used especially to attach an automotive vehicle's wheel to its axle; a person stupid enough to move a load by hand that is too heavy and dangerous for his muscles

layperson, layman, laywoman.nouns,.plurals.laypersons, laymen, laywomen
one who is not a cleric; often used of one not as yet having attained.professional.status (not being a mechanic, she only had a layperson's view of her vehicle)

listen, listened, listening, listens.intransitive verbs
to make an effort to hear something (listen to the radio; listening for the bell; he wouldn't listen to her and thus, was rejecting any good ideas she wanted to share); to be attentive to what is being said; to heed (she encouraged me to listen carefully
listen in.phrasal verb
to listen to a conversation between others; eavesdrop; to tune the mind toward something that sparked attention
listener.noun,.plural.listeners
listenable.adjective
being.such that listening is pleasurable (the music in the play was very listenable)
listenability.noun

language.noun,.plural.languages
the use by human beings of voice sounds and often written with symbols such as the letters of their particular.alphabets which represent these sounds in organized combinations and patterns; language is an ability to express and communicate thoughts and feelings; language is a system of words formed from combinations and patterns of them, used by the people of a particular country or by a group of people with a shared history or set of traditions; language can also be a nonverbal.method of communicating ideas, as by a system of signs, symbols, rules or gestures, such movements of which determines.body language; the language of algebra; the manner or means of communication between living creatures other than human beings (the language of dolphins and whales; is it inferior to languages of humanity?); verbal communication as a subject of study; the wording of a legal document or statute as distinct from the spirit, due to its legalese (the train crossing's lights were flashing for miles as we approached the track, but still no train in either direction, so we figured that the switch was not working and that if the lights meant legally one is not to cross, the spirit of the matter is to go carefully ahead)
sublanguage.noun,.plural.sublanguages
meaning of the prefix 'sub'; a sublanguage is a language beside the main one used, as here
Computers:.a system of symbols and rules used for communication with or between computers

lesion.noun,.plural.lesions
a wound or an injury; a localized.pathological change in a bodily organ or tissue; an infected.patch of skin

liaison.noun,.plural.liaisons
one that maintains communication (the ambulance is always in liason with the emergency department at the hospital); an instance or a means of communication between different groups or units of an organization; a close relationship, connection or link; an adulterous relationship; an affair

log.noun,.plural.logs
a usually large section of a trunk or limb of a fallen or felled tree; a long, thick section of trimmed, unhewn.timber
log, logged, logging, logs.verbs
transitive verb use.to cut down, trim and haul the timber off a piece of land; to cut timber into unhewn sections
intransitive verb use.to cut down, trim and haul timber

log.noun,.plural.logs
in nautical.terms, a device trailed from a ship to determine its speed through the water to get a record of a ship's speed, its progress and any shipboard events of navigational importance; the book in which this record is kept; a record of a vehicle's performance, as the flight record of an aircraft; a record, as of the performance of a machine or the progress of an undertaking (a computer log; a trip log)
log, logged, logging, logs.verbs
transitive verb use.to enter in a record, as of a ship or an aircraft; to travel a specified distance, time or speed (logged 30,000 air miles in April); to spend or accumulate time (had logged 25 years with the company)
intransitive verb use.to record information
log in.or.log on.phrasal verbs
Computers:.to enter into a computer the information required to begin a session
log out.or.log off
Computers:.to enter into a computer the command to end a session

log.noun,.plural.logs
a logarithm

latch onto.idiom
to get hold of; obtain
latch.noun,.plural.latches
a fastening, as for a door or gate, typically consisting of a bar that fits into a notch or slot and is lifted from either side by a lever or string; a spring lock, as for a door, that is opened from the outside by a key
latch, latched, latching, latches.verbs
transitive verb use.to close or lock with or as if with a latch
intransitive verb use.to have or be closed with a latch; to shut tightly so that the latch is engaged (a door too warped to latch) 

loco.adjective
mad; insane
loco.noun,.plural.locos
loco, locoed, locoing, locos.transitive verbs
to make insane; craze; also see local

loco.adverb
loco.adjective
in music, to be played at the pitch written, used chiefly as a direction

lonely, lonelier, loneliest.adjectives
without companions; lone; characterized by aloneness; solitary; unfrequented by people; desolate (a lonely crossroads); someone who is lonely is separated from social.interaction and somewhat unhappy because of not having anyone to talk with (he often feels lonelier in the middle of a crowd than he does on his boat in the middle of nowhere; a lonely situation or period of time is one in which you may feel melancholy because you are alone or do not have anyone to talk to (she needs something to occupy her during those long, lonely nights; her lonely childhood); a lonely place is one where few people ever come; dejected by the awareness of being alone
lonelily.adverb
loneliness.noun
lone.adjective
without accompaniment; solitary (a lone skier on the mountain); without companionship; isolated or lonely; being the only one; sole (the lone doctor in the county); single; situated by itself (a lone tree on the prairie; a lone blue tile in a white floor)