leftovers — food remaining after a meal has been finished
Part of speech: NOUN
Definition: food remaining after a meal has been finished
Pronunciation (IPA): /ˈleftˌoʊvərz/
Example Sentences
- My mom's leftovers taste better than most restaurant meals.
- I'm a leftover expert - I can turn yesterday's chicken into today's sandwich masterpiece!
- The office meeting had so many leftovers that we didn't need to buy lunch for a week.
leftovers
NOUN[/ˈleftˌoʊvərz/]
food remaining after a meal has been finished
While the family happily ate the piping hot pizza, several cold slices became leftovers in the fridge.
LEFT (remaining) + OVER (after it ends) — after the party was over, the cook packed the leftovers from the table.
Crushing the wild patch of sweet clover with a yellow bulldozer, the garden crew scraped up the scattered leftovers.
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🎤Pronunciation
🌳Etymology
Origin
Leftovers is a compound word formed from English elements, combining the past participle 'left' (remaining or abandoned) with the adverb 'over' (beyond, surplus). The term literally means 'things that remain beyond' or 'things carried over,' originally referring to food or provisions not consumed and thus remaining from a meal.
Breakdown
left (past participle of 'leave,' meaning remaining or abandoned) + over (adverb/preposition meaning beyond, surplus, or carried forward) + -s (plural marker).
🎵Rhyme
🔗Collocations
📝Examples
“My mom's leftovers taste better than most restaurant meals.”
“I'm a leftover expert - I can turn yesterday's chicken into today's sandwich masterpiece!”
“The office meeting had so many leftovers that we didn't need to buy lunch for a week.”
“His cooking is so bad that even his dog refuses the leftovers.”
📚Related Words
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