English dictionary — definitions & meanings

la

noun

In solfège, the syllable used for the sixth note of a major scale.

laager

noun

A defensive encampment encircled by wagons, especially by South African Boers.

lab

noun

A laboratory — a room or building equipped for scientific experiments, testing, or research.

label

noun

A small tag, sticker, or printed note attached to something, giving information about it.

labeled

adj

Marked with a label or tag identifying what it is.

labeling

noun

The labels attached to products or objects, or the process of putting them on.

labelled

adj

British and Canadian spelling of "labeled" — marked with an identifying tag.

labia

noun

The folds of skin on either side of the vaginal opening, part of the external female genitalia.

labial

adj

Of or pertaining to the lips or labia.

labile

adj

Liable to slip, err, fall, or apostatize.

labor

noun

Work, especially hard physical work; also the workers of a country or industry considered as a group.

laboratory

noun

A room or building equipped for scientific research, testing, or experiments.

laborer

noun

Someone who does physical work, especially unskilled manual work, often paid by the hour.

laboring

noun

The act of working hard, especially physical toil.

laborious

adj

Requiring a great deal of physical effort; tiring and hard work.

laborist

noun

A physician who aids labor and delivery but does not provide prenatal care.

labour

noun

Hard physical or mental effort put into a task; work.

laboured

adj

Showing clear signs of strain or heavy effort.

labourer

noun

British spelling of "laborer" — someone who does physical, often unskilled, work.

Labrador

noun

A large, friendly breed of dog, originally bred as a retriever, popular as both a working and family dog.

labrish

noun

Gossip, rumor, chatty speaking.

labside

adj

Relating to activities that happen in the dental laboratory, as opposed to chairside activities.

labyrinth

noun

A complicated network of winding paths or passages that is hard to find your way through; a maze.

labyrinthal

adj

Like a maze or labyrinth, intricate or convoluted. labyrinthine.

labyrinthine

adj

Physically resembling a labyrinth; with the qualities of a maze.

lac

noun

A resin-like substance secreted by certain scale insects, used to make lacquer and shellac.

lace

noun

A delicate, decorative fabric made of patterned holes and thread.

laced

adj

Fastened using laces.

lacerate

verb

To tear, rip or wound.

lacerated

adj

Cut or torn, describing a wound, or figuratively describing something badly damaged.

laceration

noun

A deep, jagged cut or tear in the skin or flesh.

lacewood

noun

Any of several types of wood with a coarse texture, but especially that from several varieties of sycamore.

lacework

noun

A piece or example of lace.

Lacey

name

A unisex given name and surname, originally a Norman habitational name from Lassy in Normandy, also the name of towns in New Jersey and Washington.

Lachie

name

A diminutive of the male given name Lachlan, common in Scotland and Australia.

Lachlan

name

A male given name of Scottish Gaelic origin, popular in Scotland and Australia, also a river in New South Wales.

lachrymate

adj

Having the shape of a tear.

lachrymose

adj

Tearful, sorrowful, sad, pertaining to tears, weeping, causing tears or crying.

Laci

name

A unisex given name and surname, a variant spelling of Lacey.

lacie

name

A surname from Old French, variant of Lacey

lacing

noun

That with which something is laced.

lack

noun

The absence or shortage of something needed or wanted.

lackadaisical

adjective

Lacking energy, care, or determination; doing something in a half-hearted and casually careless way.

lackey

noun

A servant, especially one in uniform, or by extension someone who follows orders without question.

lacking

adj

Missing, or not having enough of something needed.

lackluster

adj

Lacking brilliance or intelligence.

Lacks

name

A surname.

lackwit

noun

A witless person; a fool.

laconia

name

A historical region of Ancient Greece, which has had Sparta as its capital for over 3,000 years.

laconic

adjective

Using very few words, in a way that seems deliberate and often dry.

lacquer

noun

A glossy protective coating applied to wood, metal, or nails to give a hard, shiny finish.

Lacroix

name

A surname of French origin, meaning "the cross."

lacrosse

noun

A team sport where players use netted sticks to carry, pass, and shoot a ball into the opposing goal.

lactate

verb

To secrete or produce milk.

lactating

verb

Producing milk in the mammary glands, as a woman does after giving birth or a female mammal does while feeding young.

lactation

noun

The secretion of milk from the mammary gland of a female mammal.

lacteous

adj

Milky; resembling milk.

lactose

noun

The natural sugar found in milk and dairy products.

lacy

adj

Made of lace, or resembling the delicate, patterned look of lace.

lad

noun

A boy or young man, especially used informally or affectionately.

Lada

name

A female given name of Czech origin, also the brand name of cars made by the Russian manufacturer AvtoVAZ.

ladder

noun

A frame with rungs used for climbing up or down.

ladders

noun

Plural of ladder — more than one climbing frame with rungs.

laddie

noun

A young boy, used affectionately or informally, especially in Scottish English.

lade

verb

To fill or load (related to cargo or a shipment).

laden

adj

Weighed down or heavily loaded with something.

ladies

noun

Plural of "lady," or informally, a women's restroom.

lading

noun

The action of loading.

ladle

noun

A long-handled, deep-bowled spoon used for serving liquids like soup.

lady

noun

A polite or formal word for a woman, especially one with refined manners.

ladybird

noun

A small, round beetle, usually red or orange with black spots, that eats garden pests like aphids.

ladybug

noun

American English name for the small, round, spotted beetle known in Britain as a ladybird.

ladyfinger

noun

A low-density, dry, egg-based, sweet sponge cake biscuit roughly shaped like a large finger.

ladyish

adj

Characteristic of a lady; ladylike.

ladylike

adj

Behaving or appearing in a refined, polite, feminine way traditionally expected of a well-mannered woman.

ladylove

noun

A woman who is loved by someone; a female object of desire.

ladyship

noun

A respectful title used to address or refer to a noblewoman, without stating her specific title.

Laertes

name

In Greek mythology, the father of Odysseus; also the name of a character in Shakespeare's Hamlet.

Laetitia

name

A female given name from Latin, meaning "happiness," a variant spelling of Letitia.

Lafayette

noun

A silvery coastal fish (also called the spot or goody) common along the southern Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States.

Lafferty

name

A surname of Irish origin.

Lafite

noun

A prestigious red Bordeaux wine produced at the Château Lafite Rothschild estate in France.

Lafitte

name

A surname of French origin, also an unincorporated community in Louisiana.

Lafleur

name

A surname of French origin, meaning "the flower."

lag

verb

To fall behind or fail to keep pace with something else.

lager

noun

A pale, crisp style of beer brewed at cool temperatures using a slow-acting yeast.

laggard

adj

Lagging behind; taking more time than the others in a group.

lagging

adj

Falling behind; failing to keep up with the expected pace.

Lago

name

A surname.

lagoon

noun

A shallow stretch of water separated from the open sea by a sandbar, reef, or narrow strip of land.

Lagos

name

The largest city in Nigeria and its former capital, also a city in southern Portugal.

Laguardia

name

A surname of Italian or Spanish origin, meaning "the guard."

Laguna

noun

A member of the Laguna Pueblo, a federally recognized Native American tribe in New Mexico.

lagune

noun

Dated spelling of lagoon.

lah

particle

A sentence-ending word used in Singapore/Malaysia English and similar varieties to add emphasis, reassurance, or a casual, friendly tone.

Lahey

name

A surname of Irish origin, a variant spelling of Leahy.

Lahore

name

The second-largest city in Pakistan, capital of Punjab province, known for its Mughal-era architecture.

lai

noun

A short medieval narrative poem, often about love or adventure, popular in French and English literature.

laic

noun

A layperson as opposed to a cleric, i.e. not a member of the clergy.

laical

adj

Of or pertaining to a layperson, layman, laywoman, or laypeople, i.e. the laity in general.

laicist

adj

Pertaining to or representing the interests of the laity; non-clerical; secular.

laid

verb

Past tense and past participle of "lay" — to have placed something down.

laid off

verb

Dismissed from a job because the employer no longer has the work or the money for the role, rather than because of anything the worker did wrong.

Laila

name

A female given name of Arabic origin, a variant spelling of Leila, traditionally meaning "night".

lain

verb

Past participle of "lie" — to have rested in a horizontal position.

laine

noun

An area of open, cultivated farmland at the base of a hill, especially in parts of southern England.

Lainey

name

A pet form of the female given name Elaine.

lair

noun

The den or hidden resting place of a wild animal.

laird

noun

A person, especially in Scotland, who owns a large estate of land.

laissez-faire

noun

The principle that governments should interfere as little as possible in business and the economy, leaving markets to regulate themselves.

lait

verb

To search for or seek something (archaic or dialectal).

laity

noun

People of a church who are not ordained clergy or clerics.

lake

noun

A large body of water surrounded by land.

lakeland

name

The Lake District, a rural area in northwest England.

laker

noun

A cargo ship built to operate on the Great Lakes of North America.

lakeshore

noun

The land bordering a lake.

lakeside

noun

The area of land next to a lake.

Lakewood

name

A common American place name shared by cities and towns in several states, including Ohio, California, and Colorado.

lakh

num

In South Asian English, the number one hundred thousand (100,000).

Lakota

noun

A member of one of the Native American Sioux nations, historically based in the Northern Plains of the United States.

Lakshmi

name

The Hindu goddess of wealth and prosperity, consort of Vishnu; also a female given name used in India.

Lal

name

A surname common in South Asia.

Lala

name

A language spoken in Papua New Guinea.

lallans

name

The Scots language or a literary form based on the Lowland Scots dialects of Scotland.

lallation

noun

The incorrect pronunciation of the letter "r" so that it sounds like an "l" (or "w").

Lally

noun

A leg (informal/dialect usage).

lallygag

noun

Horseplay, fooling around.

lalo

noun

A powder made from dried baobab leaves, used in West African cooking to thicken soups and stews.

lam

verb

To hit or beat someone hard.

lama

noun

A senior teacher or spiritual master in Tibetan Buddhism.

Lamar

name

A male given name and surname, also the name of several towns across the United States, from an Old French place name meaning "the pool."

Lamarr

name

A surname.

Lamaze

noun

A method of preparing for childbirth that teaches breathing and relaxation techniques to manage labour without heavy reliance on medication.

lamb

noun

A young sheep.

lambaste

verb

To scold, reprimand or criticize harshly.

lambchop

noun

A chop or rib of lamb.

Lambda

name

A female given name, also the eleventh letter of the Greek alphabet used as a symbol in science and mathematics.

lambdacism

noun

A pronunciation shift whereby /l/ or other closely related phonemes are substituted for other sounds (typically /r/), as Sally for Sarah or Molly for Mary.

lambent

adj

Brushing or flickering gently over a surface.

Lambert

noun

A unit of brightness (luminance) in the old CGS measurement system, equal to one lumen per square centimeter.

lambkin

noun

A young lamb, a very young sheep.

lambodara

name

an epithet of lord Ganesha.

Lamborghini

noun

A high-performance sports car made by the Italian manufacturer Lamborghini.

lambskin

noun

The skin of a very young sheep, especially prepared with the fleece still attached. A very fine form of leather.

lame

adj

Unable to walk normally because of an injury or problem with the legs or feet.

lameness

noun

An impediment to walking due to the feet or legs.

lament

verb

To express deep sorrow or regret over something.

lamentable

adj

So poor or regrettable as to cause sorrow or disappointment; deplorable.

lamentably

adv

Regrettably; in a manner deserving or inspiring lamentation.

lamentation

noun

The act of lamenting.