Idiom: lean on someone/something

Meaning

Idiom: lean on someone/something

to depend on someone/something
to try to pressure or force someone to do something

Example sentences

— Good friends are people you can lean on when you’re sad and lonely.

— I’m trying to be supportive but my team members are leaning on me too much and they need to be able to do some things by themselves.

— When I was a young mother with three kids, I had to lean on my relatives a lot.

— I'll miss you mom. You were always there when I needed someone to lean on.

— The director had to lean on the managers to get production back up to the right pace.

— I feel like my girlfriend is leaning on me to ether move in together or get married.

— You need to lean on the tenant if their rent is two month's past due.

— My boss hates conflict so he asked me to lean on the cleaning staff to do a better job.

— My constituents are leaning on me to vote "no" on the proposed legislation.

Synonyms

1. depend on someone/something

count on
have faith in
swear by
have every confidence in someone
bank on

2. pressure someone to do something

crack the whip
drag someone into something
force someone's hand
put a gun to someone's head
pin someone down

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Lean on Me - Song by Bill Withers

Bill Withers uses this idiom in his famous song, "Lean on me." It's a great classic. Check it out.