Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

lees

/liːz/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.04 in modern English

Syllables: lees
IPA: /liːz/

4

Scrabble Score

4

Letters

1

Syllables

3

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The sediment that settles during fermentation of beverages, consisting of dead yeast and precipitated parts of the fruit.

noun

name

Countable

name

Countable; Uncountable

name

Countable; Uncountable

name

Example Sentences

"Methinks my body is but the lees of my better being."
"Kipper drained his glass to the lees and seemed to become calmer."

Etymology

From Old French lies, from Medieval Latin lias (“lees, dregs”) (descent via winemaking common in monasteries), from Gaulish *ligyā, *legyā (“silt, sediment”) (compare Welsh llai, Old Breton leh (“deposit, silt”)), from Proto-Celtic *legyā (“layer”), from Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- (“to lie (down)”). Doublet of lias; also related to Loire and Leicester.

Origin

Source language: Old French

Word Breakdown

Root: *legʰ-, lies, lias, *ligyā, *legyā

Usage

Inflected Forms

Leeses (plural)

Derived Forms

leesy

Phrases

Dalbury Lees

Frequently Paired Words

lie Lee's Leeson

Synonyms

dregs

Homonyms

leese

Rhymes With

these please she's chinese disease japanese trees sees cheese degrees fees keys

Questions

How do you pronounce lees?: The recorded pronunciation is /liːz/.
What does lees mean?: The sediment that settles during fermentation of beverages, consisting of dead yeast and precipitated parts of the fruit.
Where does lees come from?: It is traced to Old French.

How to pronounce lees

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “lees”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/liːz/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “lees”.
Repeat and practice — Say “lees” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.