The past tense of lean is leaned (pronounced leend) or leant (pronounced lent).
Depending on the preposition or adverb used, lean has more than one meaning.
- Herbert leaned (inclined) his rake against the fence and then leaned (rested) against the old oak tree.
- The gambler tossed down his cards and leant (tilted) back in his chair.
- Terry leant toward (was partial to) the arts rather than the sciences.
- Jackie leaned on (pressured) her parents to buy her a new car for her birthday.
Copyright notice for Writing Tips Plus
© His Majesty the King in Right of Canada, represented by the Minister of Public Services and Procurement
A tool created and made available online by the Translation Bureau, Public Services and Procurement Canada
Search by related themes
Want to learn more about a theme discussed on this page? Click on a link below to see all the pages on the Language Portal of Canada that relate to the theme you selected. The search results will be displayed in Language Navigator.
Related links
- Writing Tips Plus (home page)
- Writing tools
- Language Navigator (for fast access to language tips)
- TERMIUM Plus®