English
Verb
en-verb|inf=to leave for dead | leaves for dead | leaving for dead | left for dead
- to abandon someone, assuming that they will die
Usage notes
The object is placed between leave and for dead (e.g. They left them for dead.), except when passive (They were left for dead.).
Quotations
1835, Anne Laura Thorold, Letters from Brussels, in the summer of 1835
:He stood in the middle of a narrow part of the road, stopped the horse, and struck Fyot with a heavy cudgel, leaving him for dead in the ditch.
1851, Personal Adventures of an Austrian Officer in the Hungarian War of 1848 and 1849
:The Writer having received two wounds, is left for dead on the field
2001, R .Phillip Loy, Westerns and American Culture, 1930-1955
:When Steele rides after them, they shoot him and leave him for dead in the desert.
Category:English verbs
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