Verbs That Start With L

If asked, could you define a verb? Don't they just do "verby" things? Truth is, they're a little hard to define because they don't just perform the action of a sentence (although that's largely their purpose). Aside from lunging across sentences and leaping into depths of understanding, they also link subjects and predicates and serve as helpers to the almighty action verb. Read on to explore 50 verbs that start with "l" and enjoy a quick study of this part of speech.

50 Verbs Starting With L

Looking for a list of "l" verbs? Below, you'll find 50 of the most common verbs that start with "l." Each verb is paired with one of its definitions. You'll also find synonyms for each verb in this lovely list.

Verb	Definition	Synonyms
label	to mark something with its name or description	marker, tag, identfiy
lack	absence of something	dearth, shortfall, not there
lament	to feel loss, sorrow, or regret	bemoan, rue, mourn
land	to win or get something	achieve, acquire, secure
last	to go on or continue for a while	endure, linger, sustain
laugh	to express amusement with vocal sounds and facial movements	giggle, chuckle, snicker
launch	to set something in motion	catapult, propel, initiate
lay	to put or set something down	place, arrange, rest
lead	to inspire others to act	guide, motivate, pilot
leak	to let out by mistake or on purpose	seep, ooze, escape
lean	to incline or bend into a sloping position	cant, recline, tilt
leap	to jump up from the ground	spring, bound, hop
learn	to acquire knowledge or new information	mater, gain knowledge, become aware
leave	to depart	escape, flee, exit
legalize	to make legal or lawful	ratify, sanction, permit
lend	to allow someone to borrow	advance, give temporarily,
lessen	to diminish or reduce	lower, decrease, abate
let	to allow	permit, approve, authorize
leverage	to utilize something to your advantage	capitalize, utilize, exploit
liberate	to set free or emancipate someone or something	release, unshackle, unfetter
license	to give or yield permission to	authorize, permit, sanction
lick	to wet with the tongue	moisten, taste, lap
lie	to say something that knowingly isn't true	falsify, fabricate, deceive
lift	to raise something up	elevate, heave, hoist
lighten	to diminish a burden	ease, reduce, lessen
like	to enjoy something	fancy, admire, appreciate
limit	to confine or restrict	curb, apportion, ration
limp	to walk with difficulty, often dragging one leg	falter, hobble, shuffle
line-up	arrange items or people in a straight row	queue-up, align, put in rows
linger	to remain somewhere	stay, stick around, hang around
link	to join or connect together	attach, bind, combine
list	to write down a series of words or numbers	enumerate, itemize, index
listen	to pay close attention to the sounds made by someone or something	hear, tune-in, perceive noise
live	to have life	exist, survive, be alive
load	to put a lot of something into a container or other place	pack, cram, stuff
loathe	to dislike very strongly	abhor, detest, hate
locate	to find	detect, pinpoint, discover
lock	to secure, strap or fasten into place	clamp, seal, secure
lodge	to become embedded	get stuck, wedge, become caught
log	to record information	document, write down, make note of
look	to turn one's eyes toward something	view, peer, see
loom	to come into view as a massive, distorted image	threaten, emanate, tower above
loop	to form in a way that two sides fold on each other with an opening in the middle	coil, make a circle, twist
lose	to decline or be defeated	drop, fall, fail to win
lounge	to lay or sit in a comfortable chair	relax, laze, rest
love	to have a deep emotional attachment to a person, people, or thing	adore, cherish, treasure
lower	to bring down or lessen	reduce, let fall, drop
lubricate	to make smooth or slippery by applying a liquid or viscous substance	grease, oil, moisten
lure	to purposely tempt someone to do something	bait, entice, induce
lurk	to hang around a place and stay hidden	lie in wait, skulk, move in a furtive way

Types of Verbs

Verbs are an impressive and important part of speech, as they're essential to every sentence. While people usually think of action words when they think of verbs, there are actually some different kinds of verbs.

action verbs - It's true that action verbs are the most common type. They highlight things you can do. Several verbs that begin with "l" are action verbs. For example, in the table above, linger and leak are examples of action verbs.
helping verbs - Helping verbs are also used quite frequently. They assist the main verb by extending its meaning. Using an example from the above list, you could say, "Luiz is listening to the radio." In this sentence, "is" is the helping verb to the main (action) verb "listening."
linking verbs - Linking verbs also often find their way into writing and conversations. These verbs don't describe an action. Rather, they connect the subject of the sentence to additional information. Linking verbs are often "to be" verbs, including "am," "is," "are," and "were." An example would be, "Lily was late for school." In this example, "was" is the linking verb. What was she? Late. While late is an "l" word, it's an adjective rather than a verb.

10 Example Sentences

Most simple sentences follow the same basic pattern: subject + verb + direct object. The verb's job is to put the subject of the sentence into motion. In the sentence, "Lindy listed 50 verbs," "Lindy" is the subject, "listed" is the verb, and "verbs" is the direct object. Loop back to some of the verbs that start with "l" from the list above and improve your understanding of the English language by reviewing a few example sentences.

Don't lament because he's gone; rejoice.
It felt good to laugh after the way this weekend went.
Please don't launch into a sermon on gossip; I know it's wrong.
The faulty gutters began to leak.
Slowly, he began to leverage his love of writing into a full-time profession.
Do you want the dog to lick your ice cream cone?
He seemed to linger by the pond all night.
All you have to do is live your best life.
Depression seemed to loom over him.
Don't let material possessions lure you into debt.

Lively L-Verbs

Verbs are lively, indeed. They create momentum in our sentences. In short, they tell us who's doing what. Let's have some fun with alliteration. Do you know what part of speech "lively" is? It's an adjective. It modifies nouns, such as the lively lullaby. Why not see how many adjectives, nouns and verbs you can bring together to create a nice bit of alliteration? Explore 50 nouns that start with "l" to help you get started. Then, check out these laudable "l" adjectives as well. Next, use this list of words that start with "l" from WordFinder by YourDictonary to learn even more "l" words across several parts of speech. From there, turn your attention to verbs that start with "m" to travel to the next letter in the alphabet.