lee

¹

[lee]

noun

1. protective shelter.

   The lee of the rock gave us some protection against the storm.

2. the side or part that is sheltered or turned away from the wind.

   We erected our huts under the lee of the mountain.

3. Chiefly Nautical.,  the quarter or region toward which the wind blows.

adjective

1. pertaining to, situated in, or moving toward the lee.

Lee

²

[lee]

noun

1. Ann, 1736–84, British mystic: founder of Shaker sect in the United States.

2. Charles, 1731–82, American Revolutionary general, born in England.

3. Doris Emrick 1905–1986, U.S. painter.

4. Fitzhugh 1835–1905, U.S. general and statesman (grandson of Henry Lee; nephew of Robert E. Lee).

5. Francis Lightfoot 1734–97, American Revolutionary statesman (brother of Richard H. Lee).

6. Gypsy Rose Rose Louise Hovick, 1914–70, U.S. entertainer.

7. Harper, 1926–2016, U.S. novelist.

8. Henry Light-Horse Harry, 1756–1818, American Revolutionary general (father of Robert E. Lee).

9. Kuan Yew 1923–2015, Singapore political leader: prime minister 1959–90.

10. Manfred Bennington Ellery Queen, 1905–71, U.S. mystery writer, in collaboration with Frederic Dannay.

11. Richard Henry, 1732–94, American Revolutionary statesman (brother of Francis L. Lee).

12. Robert E(dward), 1807–70, U.S. soldier and educator: Confederate general in the American Civil War (son of Henry Lee).

13. Sir Sidney, 1859–1926, English biographer and critic.

14. Spike Shelton Jackson Lee, born 1957, U.S. film director, screenwriter, and actor.

15. Tsung-Dao born 1926, Chinese physicist in the United States: Nobel Prize 1957.

16. a town in western Massachusetts: part of the Berkshire resort area.

17. a male or female given name.

Lee

¹

/ liː /

noun

1. Ang (æŋ). born 1954, Taiwanese film director; his films include Sense and Sensibility (1995), Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), Brokeback Mountain (2005), and Life of Pi (2012)

2. Bruce, original name Lee Yuen Kam . 1940–73, US film actor and kung fu expert who starred in such films as Enter the Dragon (1973)

3. Gypsy Rose, original name Rose Louise Hovick . 1914–70, US striptease and burlesque artiste, who appeared in the Ziegfeld Follies (1936) and in films

4. Laurie (ˈlɒrɪ). 1914–97, British poet and writer, best known for the autobiographical Cider with Rosie (1959)

5. Richard Henry. 1732–94, American Revolutionary statesman, who moved the resolution in favour of American independence (1776)

6. Robert E ( dward ). 1807–70, American general; commander-in-chief of the Confederate armies in the Civil War

7. Spike, real name Shelton Jackson Lee. born 1957, US film director: his films include She's Gotta Have It (1985), Malcolm X (1992), and the documentary When the Leeves Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts (2008)

8. T ( sung ) -D ( ao ) (tsuːŋ daʊ). born 1926, US physicist, born in China. With Yang he disproved the principle that that parity is always conserved and shared the Nobel prize for physics in 1957

lee

²

/ liː /

noun

1. a sheltered part or side; the side away from the direction from which the wind is blowing

2. nautical so that the wind is blowing on the wrong side of the sail

3. nautical towards the lee

adjective

1. (prenominal) nautical on, at, or towards the side or part away from the wind Compare weather

   on a lee shore

Lee

³

/ liː /

noun

1. a river in SW Republic of Ireland, flowing east into Cork Harbour. Length: about 80 km (50 miles)

Word History and Origins

Origin of Lee¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English hlēo(w) “shelter covering, protection,” cognate with Old Frisian hli, hly, Old Saxon hleo, Old Norse hlé

Word History and Origins

Origin of Lee¹

Old English hlēow shelter; related to Old Norse hle

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. by the lee, accidentally against what should be the lee side of a sail.

   Careless steering brought the wind by the lee.

2. under the lee, to leeward.

Example Sentences

Regular favourites who are set to return include Jenny and Lee, the Siddiquis and the Malones.

From BBC

“Highest 2 Lowest” marks the fifth collaboration between Washington and filmmaker Spike Lee.

From Los Angeles Times

In fact he had used ice and dry ice to freeze his own legs so they had to be removed, said prosecutor Nicholas Lee.

From BBC

The latter, for instance, is yanking Spike Lee’s “Highest 2 Lowest” out of theaters this Friday after a two-week limited run, moving it onto the Apple TV+ streaming platform.

From Salon

Democratic congresswoman Summer Lee said the "only new disclosure" was flight logs taken by US Customs and Border Protection, which show Epstein's travel to and from his private island in the US Virgin Islands.

From BBC

Related Words

• border 
• bottom 
• face 
• front 
• hand 
• part 
• rear 
• sector 
• surface 
• top 
• view