English Dictionary — Definitions & Meanings

lothario

noun

A man mainly interested in seducing women.

lothringia

name

Another name for Lorraine, used in German contexts in particular rather than French ones.

lotion

noun

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

lotophagous

adj

Connected with the Lotophagi, the mythical 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

How strong or loud a sound 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 a long, narrow inlet, particularly 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 family name that came from a first name.

Loulou

name

A female given name, a variant of Lulu.

lounge

verb

To relax or recline in a lazy, unhurried way.

lounger

noun

Someone who lounges about; an idle person.

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 of Portuguese origin.

louse

noun

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

lousiness

noun

The state or quality of being lousy.

lousy

adj

Very poor in quality; remarkably bad.

lout

noun

A rude, clumsy, or aggressive person, especially a man.

louver

noun

A set of sloping, overlapping slats that let air and light through while keeping out rain.

Louvre

name

A famous art museum and former royal palace in Paris, France.

lovable

adj

Easy to love; endearing or adorable.

lovage

noun

A perennial herb from the Mediterranean, with a smell and flavour like celery.

love

verb

To feel deep affection or care for someone or something.

love language

noun

The way a person most naturally expresses affection and most wants to receive it, such as through kind words, gifts, time together, helpful acts or physical closeness.

lovebird

noun

A small parrot, one of nine species in the genus Agapornis, sometimes kept as a pet and known for showing affection to its mate.

lovebug

noun

A small flying insect known as the honeymoon fly, found in Central America and the south-eastern United States.

Lovecraft

name

A surname, most famously borne by horror writer H. P. Lovecraft.

loved

adj

Held dear; cherished by someone.

loveful

adj

Full of love; caring and affectionate.

Lovejoy

name

A surname.

Lovelace

noun

A charming but unprincipled seducer of women; a smooth-talking libertine.

loveless

adj

Without love; lacking affection or romance.

loveliness

noun

The quality of being lovely; beauty or charm.

loveling

noun

A dearly loved person or thing; a darling.

Lovell

name

An Anglo-Norman surname, variant of Lowell; also the name of several towns in the United States.

lovelorn

adj

Sad and longing because of unrequited or lost love.

lovely

adj

Beautiful or pleasing; delightful.

lovemaking

noun

Sexual intercourse, especially between people who love each other.

lover

noun

A person in a romantic or sexual relationship with someone.

loverboy

noun

Informal, often mocking: a young man who is confident with romantic partners.

lovers

adj

Describing two people in a romantic or sexual relationship.

loveship

noun

The process of falling in love or courting someone.

lovesick

adj

Overwhelmed by longing for someone you love, especially when that love isn't returned.

lovesome

adj

Deserving to be loved; having qualities that make someone lovable.

Lovett

name

An Anglo-Norman surname.

lovey

noun

Informal term of address, especially between actors or close friends.

Lovin

name

A surname, spelling variant of Loven.

loving

noun

The act of feeling or showing love.

lovingly

adv

In a way that shows love or great care.

lovingness

noun

The quality of showing warmth and care towards others.

low

adj

Close to the ground or to a base level; not high.

low self-esteem

noun

A persistently poor opinion of your own worth and abilities, showing up as harsh self-criticism, expecting to fail, difficulty accepting praise and putting other people's needs first.

low-hanging fruit

noun

The easiest tasks, targets or gains available, achieved with the least effort. In business it usually means the quick wins a team goes after before tackling anything hard.

low-key

adverb

Slightly, quietly or secretly; used before an admission the speaker is only half owning up to.

lowball

adj

Much lower than the real price or worth of something.

lowbrow

adj

Simple and undemanding, made for ordinary tastes rather than for the educated or cultured.

lowdown

noun

Informal: the true facts or inside information about something.

Lowe

verb

Slang for "allow" — used to tell someone to let something go or not worry about it.

Lowell

name

An Anglo-Norman surname, variant of Lovell; also a masculine given name and the name of a major city in Massachusetts.

lowen

verb

To lower something, or to become lower.

Lowenstein

name

A surname of German-Jewish origin.

lower

verb

To move something down, or reduce its height, amount, or intensity.

lowercase

verb

To change writing so that it uses small letters instead of capitals.

lowering

noun

The act of bringing something down or reducing it.

Lowers

name

A surname, patronymic from Lower.

lowery

adj

Dark, gloomy, and threatening, as of weather.

lowing

noun

The deep, sustained sound made by cattle.

lowland

noun

A stretch of land that lies lower than the ground around it.

lowlander

noun

Someone who lives in the Lowlands of Scotland.

Lowlands

name

The region of Scotland spanning from the Highland Boundary Fault to the English border, including Edinburgh and Glasgow.

lowlife

noun

A dishonest, disreputable person, especially one thought to have criminal habits.

lowly

adj

Low in rank, importance, or status; humble.

lowry

noun

An open-topped railway boxcar (a variant spelling of "lorry").

lox

noun

Salmon cured in brine and cold-smoked, served raw rather than cooked.

Loxley

name

A surname; also a village near Sheffield, England, and a river there, as well as a village in Warwickshire.

loy

noun

A narrow, single-sided spade traditionally used for digging in Ireland.

loyal

adj

Faithful and unwavering in your support of a person, group, or cause.

loyalism

noun

The state of being a loyalist.

loyalist

noun

A person who stays firmly loyal to an existing government, ruler, or cause, especially during a rebellion or conflict.

loyally

adv

In a faithful, unwavering way.

loyalty

noun

Steady faithfulness and support toward a person, group, or cause.

Lozano

name

A Spanish surname.

lozenge

noun

A flat diamond shape with two sharp corners and two wide ones.

Ls

noun

Informal shorthand for a driver's license.

Ltd

abbreviation

Limited: placed after a company name in the UK and many Commonwealth countries to show that it is a private limited company, whose owners are not personally liable for its debts beyond what they have invested.

lu

noun

In linear algebra, a technique that breaks a matrix into a lower-triangular part and an upper-triangular part, used to solve systems of equations efficiently.

Luan

name

A Chinese surname from Mandarin.

Luann

name

A feminine given name formed as a blend of Lu and Ann.

Luanne

name

A feminine given name, a variant of Louanne, formed as a blend of Lu and Anne.

luau

noun

A traditional Hawaiian feast with local dishes, music, and dancing.

lubber

noun

An awkward or idle person.

Lubbock

name

A surname; also a city in Texas, United States, named after the surname.

lube

noun

A lubricant, especially oil or grease used to reduce friction.

lubish

adj

Describing units of an old currency once widely used in trade in northern Germany.

lubric

adj

Smooth and slippery to the touch.

lubricant

noun

A substance, such as oil or grease, applied between surfaces to cut down friction and wear.

lubricate

verb

To make something slippery or smooth, usually by applying oil or grease, so that it moves with less friction.

lubricated

adj

Coated or treated with a substance that makes it slippery.

lubrication

noun

The act of applying a lubricant between moving parts to reduce friction and heat.

lubricator

noun

A device used to apply lubricant.

lubricious

adj

Having a smooth, glossy, slippery surface.

Luca

name

A masculine given name of Italian origin, also used for girls in some cultures.

Lucas

name

A male first name of Latin origin.

Lucca

name

A province and city in Tuscany, Italy.

Lucci

name

A surname of Italian origin.

luce

noun

A fully grown pike, the freshwater fish.

lucent

adj

Giving off light; shining brightly.

Lucerne

noun

Alfalfa, a clover-like forage plant grown as feed for livestock.

Luci

name

A feminine given name, a nonstandard spelling of Lucy.

Lucia

name

A feminine given name of Latin origin, a variant of Lucy.

Lucian

name

A masculine given name of Latin origin, rare in the English-speaking world; also the name of an ancient Syrian sophist.

Luciana

name

A feminine given name of Italian, Portuguese, or Spanish origin.

Luciano

name

A surname and masculine given name of Italian origin.

lucid

adj

Clear and easy to understand.

lucidity

noun

The quality of being clear and easy to understand or think through.

lucidness

noun

The quality of being clear and easy to understand.

Lucie

name

A feminine given name of Latin origin, a variant of Lucy.

Lucifer

name

A name for Satan or the Devil in Christian tradition.

luciferous

adj

Giving out light.

lucifugous

adj

Avoiding light, especially sunlight.

Lucilla

name

A feminine given name of Latin origin, a diminutive form of Lucia.

Lucille

name

A feminine given name from French, popular in the United States in the 1910s.

Lucinda

name

A feminine given name of Latin origin, derived from Lucia; also a coastal town in Queensland, Australia.

Lucious

name

A masculine given name, a variant of Lucius.

Lucius

name

A masculine given name of Latin origin, from a common Roman praenomen.

luck

noun

The way things happen to work out, especially through chance rather than through anyone's effort or skill.

luckes

name

A family name that came from a first name.

luckett

name

A family name that came from a first name.

luckily

adverb

Used to introduce a fortunate fact — "as it happened, fortunately."

luckless

adj

Ending in failure, with no success at all.