What is "to leave alone"

Leave \Leave\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Left (l[e^]ft); p. pr. & vb. n. Leaving.] [OE. leven, AS. l?fan, fr. l[=a]f remnant, heritage; akin to lifian, libban, to live, orig., to remain; cf. bel[=i]fan to remain, G. bleiben, Goth. bileiban.

1. To withdraw one's self from; to go away from; to depart from; as, to leave the house.

   Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife.
   --Gen. ii. 24.

2. To let remain unremoved or undone; to let stay or continue, in distinction from what is removed or changed.

   If grape gatherers come to thee, would they not leave some gleaning grapes ?
   --Jer. xlix. 9.

   These ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
   --Matt. xxiii. 2

3. Besides it leaveth a suspicion, as if more might be said than is expressed.
   --Bacon.

   3. To cease from; to desist from; to abstain from.

   Now leave complaining and begin your tea.
   --Pope.

4. To desert; to abandon; to forsake; hence, to give up; to relinquish.

   Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee.
   --Mark x. 28.

   The heresies that men do leave.
   --Shak.

5. To let be or do without interference; as, I left him to his reflections; I leave my hearers to judge.

   I will leave you now to your gossiplike humor.
   --Shak.

6. To put; to place; to deposit; to deliver; to commit; to submit -- with a sense of withdrawing one's self from; as, leave your hat in the hall; we left our cards; to leave the matter to arbitrators.

   Leave there thy gift before the altar and go thy way.
   --Matt. v. 24.

   The foot That leaves the print of blood where'er it walks.
   --Shak.

7. To have remaining at death; hence, to bequeath; as, he left a large estate; he left a good name; he left a legacy to his niece.

8. to cause to be; -- followed by an adjective or adverb describing a state or condition; as, the losses due to fire leave me penniless; The cost of defending himself left Bill Clinton with a mountain of lawyers' bills. To leave alone.

   1. To leave in solitude.

   2. To desist or refrain from having to do with; as, to leave dangerous chemicals alone. To leave off.

      1. To desist from; to forbear; to stop; as, to leave off work at six o'clock.

      2. To cease wearing or using; to omit to put in the usual position; as, to leave off a garment; to leave off the tablecloth.

   3. To forsake; as, to leave off a bad habit.

      To leave out, to omit; as, to leave out a word or name in writing.

      To leave to one's self, to let (one) be alone; to cease caring for (one).

      Syn: Syn>- To quit; depart from; forsake; abandon; relinquish; deliver; bequeath; give up; forego; resign; surrender; forbear. See Quit.

Alone \A*lone"\, a. [All + one. OE. al one all allone, AS. [=a]n one, alone. See All, One, Lone.]

1. Quite by one's self; apart from, or exclusive of, others; single; solitary; -- applied to a person or thing.

   Alone on a wide, wide sea.
   --Coleridge.

   It is not good that the man should be alone.
   --Gen. ii. 18.

2. Of or by itself; by themselves; without any thing more or any one else; without a sharer; only.

   Man shall not live by bread alone.
   --Luke iv. 4.

   The citizens alone should be at the expense.
   --Franklin.

3. Sole; only; exclusive. [R.]

   God, by whose alone power and conversation we all live, and move, and have our being.
   --Bentley.

4. Hence; Unique; rare; matchless.
   --Shak.

   Note: The adjective alone commonly follows its noun.

   To let alone or To leave alone, to abstain from interfering with or molesting; to suffer to remain in its present state.