leaving behind
Departing without it
Leaving behind means departing from something or someone that stays where it was.
You leave behind your hometown when you move away, leave behind a mess for others to clean, or leave behind a legacy after death.
The phrase often carries emotional weight—what's left behind may be abandoned, forgotten, or deliberately released: She's finally leaving behind her old fears.
To leave someone behind can mean outpacing them: The frontrunners left the pack behind.
- letting goReleasing one's grasp
- discardingRemoving what's unwanted
- outgrowingBecoming too large for
- desertionUnlawful abandonment of duty
- memoriesStored past experiences
fading memory · legacy · departure · traces · footprints · renunciation · remnants · bygones · past life · heritage · outpacing · wake · severance · parting ways · burnt bridges · vestige · imprint · goodbye
- outperformingsurpassing, exceeding, excelling, outperforming, outdoing
- fresh startfresh start, new beginning, clean slate, starting over, do-over
leaving behindaccompanying
Going along with another
transporting · bringing · taking · conveying · escorting
leaving behindkeeping
Holding in custody
retaining · taking · preserving · safeguarding · clutching
leaving behindincluding
Containing as part
incorporating · embracing · welcoming · collecting · rounding up
leave, behind, abandon, leaves, leaving, abandoned, abandons, abandoning, leaver