English dictionary — definitions & meanings

Lon

name

A male given name, often used as a short form of Alonzo.

Londo

name

A surname of Dutch origin.

London

noun

The capital city of the United Kingdom and of England, on the River Thames, with a metropolitan population of over 13 million.

londongrad

name

London, seen as a haven for Eastern European (especially Russian) exiles.

londonistan

name

London, perceived as having been culturally conquered by Muslims.

lone

adjective

Alone; without companions.

loneliness

noun

A painful feeling of being alone or cut off from other people.

lonely

adjective

Sad because of feeling isolated from other people.

loneness

noun

The state of being alone; loneliness, solitariness.

loner

noun

A person who prefers to be, or generally is, alone rather than with others.

lonesome

adjective

Feeling sad from being alone; lonely.

lonesomeness

noun

The state of being lonesome.

long

adjective

Measuring a great distance from end to end.

long-lasting

adjective

Continuing to exist, work or have an effect for a long time.

long-term

adjective

Lasting, continuing or taking effect over a long period of time.

longer

adjective

The comparative form of "long"; extending further in distance or time.

longest

adjective

The superlative form of "long"; extending the furthest in distance or time of all being compared.

longevity

noun

The quality of living or lasting for a long time.

longevous

adj

Long-lasting, especially of life.

Longfellow

name

A surname originally used as a nickname for a tall person.

longhand

noun

The written characters used in the common method of writing; opposed to shorthand, or typing or printing; handwriting.

longhouse

noun

A long communal housing of the Iroquois and some other American Indians, the Malaysians, the Indonesians, the Vikings, and many other peoples.

longing

noun

A strong, often wistful desire for something.

longitude

noun

The angular distance of a place east or west of the prime meridian, measured in degrees.

longitudinal

adj

Running across a set direction of an object.

Longmire

name

A surname, familiar to many through the television series Longmire.

Longo

name

A surname, common in Italian communities.

longs

noun

(informal) Long trousers, as opposed to shorts.

longshoreman

noun

A man employed to load and unload ships; any person thus employed.

longsome

adj

Marked or characterised by longness or length; lengthy; long-lasting; protracted.

Longstreet

name

A surname, most notable through Confederate general James Longstreet.

longtime

adjective

Having existed or continued for a long period.

longwave

adj

Having a wavelength of greater than 1000 meters.

Longworth

name

A surname, and the name of a village in Oxfordshire, England.

longy

noun

A Manx cat with a long tail, that therefore cannot be shown at a Manx show.

Lonnie

name

A male given name, used as a pet form of Alonzo or as a diminutive of Lon.

loo

noun

(British, informal) A toilet, or the room containing one.

loofah

noun

A rough sponge made from the dried fibrous interior of a gourd, used for scrubbing the skin while bathing.

look

verb

To direct one's eyes toward something in order to see it.

look at

phrasal verb

To direct your eyes towards something or someone in order to see it.

look forward

phrasal verb

To feel pleased and excited about something that is going to happen. It is almost always used as look forward to, followed by a noun or an -ing verb.

look into

phrasal verb

To investigate a problem, complaint or question in order to find out the facts.

lookalike

noun

A person or thing that closely resembles another, especially a celebrity or well-known figure.

looked

adj

Having a particular appearance, as described by a preceding word.

lookee

noun

The person or thing being looked at, as opposed to the one doing the looking.

looker

noun

Someone who is very attractive.

looking

noun

The act of directing one's eyes toward something; a glance or gaze.

looking forward

verb

Feeling pleased and excited about something that is going to happen; used in the pattern "looking forward to" plus a noun or an -ing verb.

lookit

intj

Used to grab someone's attention before making a point, similar to "look" or "listen."

lookout

noun

A person whose job is to watch for danger or trouble.

looks

noun

A person's physical appearance, especially how attractive they are.

looky

verb

An old-fashioned or playful way of saying "look."

loom

noun

A machine used for weaving thread or yarn into cloth.

Loomis

name

A surname, and the name of several small towns and communities across the United States and Canada.

loon

noun

A diving water bird known for its haunting, wailing call, found in North America and northern Europe.

Looney

name

A surname of Irish origin.

loong

noun

A Chinese dragon, a legendary serpentine creature associated with power and good fortune.

loonie

noun

The Canadian dollar coin in common circulation since 1987.

loony

adj

Crazy or mentally unstable.

loop

noun

A shape made by a line or path that curves back to cross or meet itself.

looped

adj

Formed into a loop or containing loops.

loophole

noun

A gap, ambiguity, or technicality in a law or rule that lets someone avoid its intended effect.

looping

noun

The act or pattern of repeating something in a circular or continuous way.

loopy

adj

Slightly crazy, silly, or dazed, often from tiredness or medication.

loos

noun

An old, now rare word for praise, fame, or reputation.

loose

adj

Not firmly attached, fixed, or fitting tightly.

loosely

adv

In a way that is not tight or firmly fixed.

loosen

verb

To make something less tight, or to become less tight.

loosened

adj

Made less tight or firm than before.

loosening

noun

The process of making something less tight or strict.

looser

noun

Someone or something that sets things loose or free.

loot

noun

Goods stolen or taken by force, especially during war, a riot, or (in video games) after defeating an enemy.

looting

noun

The act of stealing goods during a riot, war, or disaster, when there is little or no law enforcement.

lop

verb

To cut off a part of something, especially a branch or limb.

lope

verb

To move with a relaxed, easy stride, usually at a steady pace.

loper

noun

One who or that which lopes; a runner; a leaper.

lopsided

adj

Uneven, with one side larger, heavier, or more developed than the other.

lor

particle

A sentence-ending word (used mainly in Singlish and similar dialects) that adds a tone of resignation, inevitability, or "that's just how it is."

Lora

noun

A technique for efficiently fine-tuning a large machine-learning model by training small additional "adapter" layers instead of the whole model.

lorandite

noun

A monoclinic-prismatic mineral containing arsenic, sulfur, and thallium.

lorazepam

noun

A prescription medicine from the benzodiazepine family, mainly used to treat anxiety.

lord

noun

A man who holds a title of nobility, or a ruler with power over others.

lordliness

noun

The property of being lordly; the bearing or manner of a lord.

lordship

noun

The rank, title, or condition of being a lord.

Lordy

intj

An exclamation expressing surprise, frustration, or strong emotion.

lore

noun

The accumulated knowledge, stories, and traditions about a subject, passed down over time.

Lorelai

name

A female given name of German origin, a modern respelling of Lorelei.

lorelei

noun

A woman viewed as dangerously alluring, like the legendary siren said to lure sailors to their doom.

loreless

adj

Without lore or learning; uneducated.

loremaster

noun

A wise person with knowledge of lore in any number of topics, such as history, genealogy, ancient poetry and possibly magic as well; A scholar.

Loren

name

A unisex given name, used for men as a form of Lawrence/Lorenzo and for women as a rarer variant of Lauren.

Lorena

name

A female given name from Italian, popularly associated with Laura through folk etymology.

Lorenz

noun

A radio-based guidance system that helped pilots line up with a runway for landing in low visibility, used at German military airfields.

Lorenzo

name

A surname (and common Italian/Spanish given name) derived from Latin Laurentius.

loreto

name

A town in Ancona, Marche, Italy.

Loretta

name

A female given name derived from Lauretta, an Italian diminutive of Laura.

lorette

noun

A woman of low morals, especially associated with the Notre-Dame-de-Lorette district of Paris.

Lori

name

A female given name that was especially popular in the United States during the 1960s.

Lorie

name

A less common spelling of Laurie, a diminutive of Laura.

loring

noun

Teaching or instruction, especially of a formal or moral kind (an old, now rare word).

lorn

adj

Doomed; lost.

Lorna

name

A female given name popularized by a 19th-century novel and mostly used in Scotland and England.

lorne

name

A male given name.

Lorraine

name

A historic region and former duchy in eastern France.

lorry

noun

A large motor vehicle used to transport heavy goods by road (the British word for a truck).

los

noun

A wildcat of the genus Lynx, especially the Eurasian lynx.

lose

verb

To no longer have something you once had, whether by accident, carelessness, or misfortune.

loser

noun

Someone who fails to win a game, contest, or competition.

losing

adj

Not winning; on course to be defeated, or already resulting in loss.

losings

noun

Monetary losses, as from gambling; losses.

loss

noun

The state of no longer having something you once had.

lost

adj

Unable to find your way or unsure of your location.

lot

noun

A large amount or number of something.

loteby

noun

A lover, paramour; a concubine.

loth

noun

A measure of weight formerly used in Germany, the Netherlands and some other parts of Europe, equivalent to half of the local ounce.

lothario

noun

A man whose chief interest is seducing, usually women.

lothringia

name

Lorraine, especially in German rather than French contexts.

lotion

noun

A liquid or cream applied to the skin for moisturizing, healing, or cosmetic purposes.

lotophagous

adj

Relating to the Lotophagi (lotus eaters).

lots

noun

A large amount or number of things (informal).

lotte

noun

The burbot, a freshwater fish, or (in cooking) monkfish sold under this name.

lottery

noun

A game in which people buy numbered tickets and prizes are awarded to whichever numbers are drawn at random.

Lottie

name

A pet form of the female given name Charlotte.

lotto

noun

A number-drawing lottery game, or a bingo-like game played with numbered cards.

Lotus

noun

A water lily, especially the sacred lotus, prized in many cultures for its flower that rises clean from muddy water.

Lou

name

A short form of the given names Louis, Louisa, or Louise.

loud

adj

Producing a lot of sound; not quiet.

Louder

name

A surname.

loudly

adv

In a way that produces a lot of noise; at high volume.

loudmouth

noun

Someone who talks too much, too loudly, or too boastfully, often at the expense of other people's patience.

loudness

noun

Strength of sound: how loud it is.

Loudon

name

A surname, and the name of towns in New Hampshire and Tennessee.

loudspeaker

noun

A device that converts an electrical signal into sound, used to amplify audio so it can be heard over a wide area.

Louella

name

A female given name formed by combining Lou with the diminutive ending -ella.

lough

noun

A lake or long, narrow inlet, especially in Ireland.

Louie

name

A casual short form of Louis (or, less often, Louise or Louisa).

Louis

name

A male given name of French origin, used for centuries by French kings.

Louisa

name

A female given name, a Latinized form of Louise used since the 18th century.

Louise

name

A female given name, the French feminine form of Louis.

Louisiana

name

A US state in the Deep South, with Baton Rouge as its capital and New Orleans as its largest city.

Louisville

name

The name of several US cities, most notably the largest city in Kentucky.

loukes

name

A surname transferred from the given name.

Loulou

name

A female given name, a variant of Lulu.

lounge

verb

To relax or recline in a lazy, unhurried way.

lounger

noun

One who lounges; an idler.

lounging

noun

The act of relaxing lazily, especially while sitting or lying down.

loup

noun

A rough lump of semi-solid iron formed during smelting, worked by a hammer or rollers before it can be shaped further.

Lourdes

name

A town in southwestern France known as a major Catholic pilgrimage site; also a feminine given name from Spanish.

lourenco

name

A surname from Portuguese.

louse

noun

A tiny wingless insect that lives as a parasite on the skin or hair of animals and people.