"leave a lot to be desired" meaning in English

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "leaves a lot to be desired",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "leaving a lot to be desired",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "left a lot to be desired",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "left a lot to be desired",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "leave much to be desired",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "leave<,,left> a lot to be desired"
      },
      "expansion": "leave a lot to be desired (third-person singular simple present leaves a lot to be desired, present participle leaving a lot to be desired, simple past and past participle left a lot to be desired)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
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          "source": "w"
        },
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          "name": "Entries with translation boxes",
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        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Czech translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Dutch translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Finnish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with French translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with German translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Polish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Portuguese translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Russian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Spanish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1944 November and December, “Conversion of L.N.E.R. \"B16\" Class 4-6-0 Locomotives”, in Railway Magazine, page 349:",
          "text": "The three cylinders of these engines are 18½ in. dia. by 26 in. stroke; and as the three piston valves were all between the frames, it resulted in the monoblock casting being weak, so far as the centre cylinder was concerned, with the result that the life of these castings left a good deal to be desired.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To be unsatisfactory; to fail to meet minimal standards of acceptability."
      ],
      "id": "en-leave_a_lot_to_be_desired-en-verb-mvsR8Iff",
      "links": [
        [
          "unsatisfactory",
          "unsatisfactory"
        ],
        [
          "fail",
          "fail"
        ],
        [
          "meet",
          "meet"
        ],
        [
          "minimal",
          "minimal"
        ],
        [
          "standard",
          "standard"
        ],
        [
          "acceptability",
          "acceptability"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(intransitive) To be unsatisfactory; to fail to meet minimal standards of acceptability."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "intransitive"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "cs",
          "lang": "Czech",
          "sense": "Translations",
          "word": "mít k dokonalosti daleko"
        },
        {
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "Translations",
          "word": "te wensen overlaten"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "Translations",
          "word": "jättää toivomisen varaa"
        },
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "Translations",
          "word": "laisser à désirer"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "Translations",
          "word": "viel zu wünschen übrig lassen"
        },
        {
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "Translations",
          "tags": [
            "imperfective"
          ],
          "word": "pozostawiać wiele do życzenia"
        },
        {
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "Translations",
          "tags": [
            "perfective"
          ],
          "word": "pozostawić wiele do życzenia"
        },
        {
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "Translations",
          "word": "deixar a desejar"
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "ostavljatʹ želatʹ lučševo",
          "sense": "Translations",
          "word": "оставлять желать лучшего"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "Translations",
          "word": "dejar mucho que desear"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "leave a lot to be desired"
}

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "leaves a lot to be desired",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "leaving a lot to be desired",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "left a lot to be desired",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "left a lot to be desired",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "leave much to be desired",
      "tags": [
        "alternative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "leave<,,left> a lot to be desired"
      },
      "expansion": "leave a lot to be desired (third-person singular simple present leaves a lot to be desired, present participle leaving a lot to be desired, simple past and past participle left a lot to be desired)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English intransitive verbs",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English verbs",
        "Entries with translation boxes",
        "Pages with 1 entry",
        "Pages with entries",
        "Terms with Czech translations",
        "Terms with Dutch translations",
        "Terms with Finnish translations",
        "Terms with French translations",
        "Terms with German translations",
        "Terms with Polish translations",
        "Terms with Portuguese translations",
        "Terms with Russian translations",
        "Terms with Spanish translations",
        "Translation table header lacks gloss"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1944 November and December, “Conversion of L.N.E.R. \"B16\" Class 4-6-0 Locomotives”, in Railway Magazine, page 349:",
          "text": "The three cylinders of these engines are 18½ in. dia. by 26 in. stroke; and as the three piston valves were all between the frames, it resulted in the monoblock casting being weak, so far as the centre cylinder was concerned, with the result that the life of these castings left a good deal to be desired.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To be unsatisfactory; to fail to meet minimal standards of acceptability."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "unsatisfactory",
          "unsatisfactory"
        ],
        [
          "fail",
          "fail"
        ],
        [
          "meet",
          "meet"
        ],
        [
          "minimal",
          "minimal"
        ],
        [
          "standard",
          "standard"
        ],
        [
          "acceptability",
          "acceptability"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(intransitive) To be unsatisfactory; to fail to meet minimal standards of acceptability."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "intransitive"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "cs",
      "lang": "Czech",
      "sense": "Translations",
      "word": "mít k dokonalosti daleko"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "Translations",
      "word": "te wensen overlaten"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "Translations",
      "word": "jättää toivomisen varaa"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "Translations",
      "word": "laisser à désirer"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "Translations",
      "word": "viel zu wünschen übrig lassen"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "Translations",
      "tags": [
        "imperfective"
      ],
      "word": "pozostawiać wiele do życzenia"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "Translations",
      "tags": [
        "perfective"
      ],
      "word": "pozostawić wiele do życzenia"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "Translations",
      "word": "deixar a desejar"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "ostavljatʹ želatʹ lučševo",
      "sense": "Translations",
      "word": "оставлять желать лучшего"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "Translations",
      "word": "dejar mucho que desear"
    }
  ],
  "word": "leave a lot to be desired"
}