leave out — omit
phrasal verbB1IELTS 5+neutralcommon
To not include something, either by accident or on purpose.
Say it like a native
Textbook You have omitted an important detail from your summary.
Native You've left out an important detail.
'Leave out' is the everyday verb for omitting. 'Omitted' is more formal/written.
Pattern: leave out + noun/pronoun
In use
- You left out the most important part of the story.daily life
- In my opinion, the report was well-written, but it left out some key statistics that would have made the argument stronger.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ You left out to mention the date.
✓ You left out the date. / You forgot to mention the date.
'Leave out + thing' (omit it). Don't follow it with 'to + verb'.
Common collocations
leave out— a detail, the best bit, a word, nothing
Don't confuse it
Not the same as 'leave behind' (to forget to take something with you).
Related
- leave out (exclude someone) — Another meaning of 'leave out' is 'exclude someone'; compare the examples to keep the meanings separate.