Words that start with L

A latch is a device that holds something like a door, gate or lid closed so it won't swing open by itself.
A latch is not the same as a lock, but many latches have a place to put a lock, for extra security.

Later is a word that means at a time after now. It can describe something that happens in the future.

Later is often used in daily talks, schedules, and instructions to show the order of events.

Latin is an ancient language spoken by Romans during the Roman empire thousands of years ago. Many languages have evolved from Latin, such as French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian.

A lattice is made from strips of a material like wood crossing over itself, leaving gaps between the strips. The gaps are usually square or diamond shaped, but more intricate lattices have more interesting shapes. Lattices can be made from wood, plastic, metal or may even be made out of pastry strips on top of a pie.

You launch something, usually a vehicle, when you start it moving. For example you might launch a boat or a rocket.
You can also launch a project, for example "today is the big launch of our new campaign".

Lava is molten rock. Lava comes from volcanoes, either slowly oozing out as a lava flow, or blasted out in an eruption.

Lavender is a small bush with greyish leaves and pale purple flowers. Lavender is also the name for the color of the lavender flowers.
Lavender flowers smell very nice and still smell nice when they are dried, so they are often used in potpourri.

A lawnmower is a tool for cutting the grass in your lawn. Lawnmowers come in several different types.
Lawnmowers can be ride-on like a small car, and you drive them around over your lawn. This kind is good for really, really big lawns.
Then there are push-mowers that don't have an engine and rely on you pushing them to spin a blade that cuts the grass. This kind are hard to use and are not very common anymore.
The most common is the kind in the picture, where you push it to make it go where you want, but the blade is powered by a petrol or electric motor.

You lay something down when you place it into a resting position. You lay yourself down before you go to sleep. The picture is of someone laying a brick.

Layering is a technique for propogating plants. It works best for plants that grow roots slowly, and plants that would naturally grow roots where a stem touches the ground.
To layer a plant, you usually take a stem and bend it down towards the ground, or into a pot, and hold it in place. You damage the stem where it touches the ground by cutting it part way through, adding some rooting hormone if you want. After some time, the plant will grow roots and shoots at the cut and it can be removed from the parent plant.
Layering can also be done in the air by cutting a stem part way through, adding the rooting hormone, and bundling up some damp potting soil or peat moss around the cut. The plant will grow roots into the bundle of soil, and then it can be removed from the parent plant. This works best with plants that aren't flexible enough to be bent to the ground.