# Les

/ˈɫeɪ/ (US)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/les
Updated: 2026-08-15

## Senses

### 1. a person's name

noun · CEFR A1

a short name for a man named Lester or a person named Leslie.

For teachers: a diminutive form of the given names Lester or Leslie.

- My uncle Leslie usually goes by Les when he is with friends.
- Les was known throughout the department for his meticulous attention to detail and his refusal to use his full legal name on any internal memos.

### 2. let's

verb · CEFR B2 · Informal · Dialect

a casual way of writing or saying 'let's' (let us).

For teachers: a pronunciation spelling or colloquial contraction of 'let us'.

- Les go to the park while the sun is still out.
- The dialogue in the novel was written phonetically, using 'les' to capture the specific regional accent of the working-class characters.

### 6. short for lesbian

adjective · CEFR C1 · Slang · Vulgar

a short, often rude way of saying lesbian.

For teachers: a clipping of lesbian; frequently carries a derogatory or offensive connotation depending on the speaker and context.

- He used the word les in a way that was meant to be an insult.
- The use of 'les' as a pejorative clipping is widely documented in sociolinguistic studies of homophobic discourse.

Teaching tip: This term is often used as a slur; learners should avoid using it as it is likely to cause offense.

## Examples

- She identifies as a les and is active in the local community.
- The documentary explores how the term les has been reclaimed by younger generations as a badge of identity.
- Sociolinguistic studies often examine how clipped forms like les transition from pejorative labels used by outsiders to affirmative identifiers used within specific subcultures.

---

From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.