English Dictionary — Definitions & Meanings

lamented

adj

Mourned or grieved for, especially after death.

lamentful

adj

Full of sadness and grief.

lamenting

noun

The act of expressing grief or regret.

Lamia

noun

In folklore, a monstrous female figure, part woman and part serpent, said to prey on children.

laminate

verb

To build up a material from thin layers bonded together, or to coat something in a thin protective layer of plastic.

laminated

adj

Made by bonding thin layers together, or coated in a protective plastic film.

laminitis

noun

A disease affecting the sensitive tissue inside an animal's hoof.

lammergeier

noun

A large, long-winged vulture, Gypaetus barbatus, native to southern Europe, Africa and India.

Lamont

name

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

lamp

noun

A device that produces light, whether electric, oil-burning, or otherwise.

lampblack

noun

An amorphous form of carbon made from soot (incompletely burned organic matter); used to make pigments and inks.

lampoon

verb

To attack a person or institution in public by making them ridiculous — in a cartoon, article, song or sketch that exaggerates their faults for comic effect.

lamppost

noun

A tall post that holds a light to illuminate a street or path.

lamprey

noun

A long, slender, jawless fish of the order Petromyzontiformes, living in fresh and salt water, with a sucking mouth lined with rasping teeth.

lampshade

noun

A cover placed over a light bulb to soften or direct the light and prevent glare.

Lan

name

A surname of Chinese origin, also a county in Shanxi, China.

lana

noun

A tropical tree (Genipa americana) that produces a large edible fruit used to make juice and dye.

lanate

adj

Covered with soft, woolly hair.

Lancashire

noun

A crumbly white cheese traditionally made in Lancashire, England.

Lancaster

name

A city in Lancashire, England, and the name of a historic English royal house; also many towns across the United States, Canada, and Australia.

lance

noun

A long spear, traditionally carried by a mounted soldier or knight.

Lancelot

name

A masculine given name, famous as the name of the legendary Knight of the Round Table in Arthurian legend.

lancer

noun

A soldier, historically on horseback, armed with a lance.

lancers

noun

A 19th-century social dance for several couples, based on the quadrille.

lancet

noun

A small, sharp, two-edged surgical instrument used for opening veins or abscesses.

lancets

noun

Small, very sharp single-use blades or needles used to prick the skin, most often on a fingertip, to draw a drop of blood for testing.

Lancia

noun

A car made by the Italian manufacturer Lancia.

lancinate

verb

To stab or pierce something sharply, as if with a spear.

land

noun

The solid, dry part of the Earth's surface, as opposed to sea or sky.

landau

noun

A four-wheeled carriage with a folding top, in which the front and rear seats face each other.

landed

adj

Owning land, especially a large amount of it, as a source of wealth or status.

landen

name

A city and municipality in Flanders, Belgium, in the province of Flemish Brabant.

lander

noun

A spacecraft designed to touch down on the surface of a planet, moon, or other body.

Landers

name

An English surname, originally denoting someone who owned or worked land.

landfall

noun

The first sighting or arrival at land after a journey by sea or air.

landfill

noun

A site where waste is buried in the ground under layers of soil.

landing

noun

The act of coming down onto a surface, especially of an aircraft.

Landis

name

A surname of German origin, a variant of "Landis" meaning "from the land."

landlady

noun

A woman who owns and rents out property, or who runs a pub or lodging house.

landline

noun

A telephone connection that runs through a fixed physical cable, as opposed to a mobile signal.

landlocked

adjective

Enclosed by land on every side, with no coastline or access to the sea.

landlord

noun

A person or company that owns property and rents it out to tenants.

landlubber

noun

Someone with little experience of the sea or sailing, especially a new sailor.

landman

noun

Someone based on land for living or work, rather than a sailor.

landmark

noun

A building, monument, or natural feature that is easily recognized and often used for navigation or as a symbol of a place.

landmass

noun

A large, unbroken stretch of land bordered by sea or joined to another such area.

landmine

noun

An explosive device buried just below the ground surface, designed to detonate when stepped on or driven over.

Lando

name

A masculine given name, a short form of Orlando or Rolando.

Landon

name

A masculine given name of English origin, meaning "long hill."

landowner

noun

A person or organization that owns land.

landrace

noun

A local breed of animal or plant that has developed naturally to suit its own environment and culture, sometimes including how it is used for work.

Landru

name

A French surname, notably borne by Henri Landru, an infamous early 20th-century serial killer.

Landry

name

A surname and given name of French origin, derived from an old Germanic name meaning "ruler of the land."

landscape

noun

A stretch of land and everything visible in it, especially its scenery.

landscaping

noun

The design and arrangement of plants, paths, and features to make outdoor land more attractive.

landslide

noun

A sudden collapse and downhill movement of a mass of soil, rock, and debris.

landslip

noun

A landslide in which earth slips down a hillside or cliff.

landsman

noun

A person who avoids the sea, lacks sailing skills, or feels uneasy on boats.

lane

noun

A narrow road, path, or passageway, often bordered by hedges, walls, or buildings.

Laney

name

A feminine given name, often used as a short form of Elaine or Delaney.

lang

adj

Long (a Scots and Northern English dialect word).

Langdon

name

An English surname and given name meaning "long hill," originally referring to a place.

Lange

name

A German and Scandinavian surname meaning "tall" or "long."

langer

noun

(Irish slang, informal) A foolish, annoying, or contemptible person, usually a man.

Langford

name

An English surname and place name meaning "long ford," a crossing over a river.

Langham

name

An English surname and place name meaning "long homestead."

Langley

noun

A unit of solar energy received per unit area, used in older meteorology and physics, equal to one calorie per square centimeter.

Langston

name

An English surname and given name meaning "long stone" or "long town," notably borne by poet Langston Hughes.

Langton

name

An English surname and place name meaning "long settlement."

language

noun

A system of words and grammar used by a community to communicate.

languid

adjective

Moving slowly and without energy, often in a relaxed and rather graceful way.

languish

verb

To gradually lose strength, vitality, or spirit, especially over a long period of neglect or hardship.

languor

noun

A bodily or mental state, brought on by tiredness or illness, marked by a weary, languid feeling; lassitude; also, a single occurrence of this.

languorous

adj

Without energy, spirit, liveliness or vitality; sluggish, listless and lacking drive.

Lani

noun

A member of an indigenous highland people of Central Papua, Indonesia.

lanier

noun

A narrow strip of leather.

lank

adj

Thin and not well-rounded; skinny.

Lanka

name

A short form used to refer to Sri Lanka, an island nation off the southern coast of India.

lanky

adj

Tall and thin, often in an awkward or ungainly way.

Lanny

name

A masculine given name, a diminutive form of Roland or Orlando.

Lansing

name

A city in the U.S. state of Michigan, serving as the state capital.

lansquenet

noun

a German mercenary foot soldier, typically a pikeman, of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.

lantern

noun

A portable case with a light inside, made of glass or another see-through material to protect the flame or bulb.

lanthanum

noun

A soft, silvery-white metal element, symbol La, atomic number 57, which slowly tarnishes in air.

lanyard

noun

A cord worn around the neck or wrist to hold a small item such as an ID badge, key, or whistle.

Lao

noun

A member of the Tai ethnic group native to Laos and parts of Thailand.

laodicean

adj

Relating to any of the ancient cities called Laodicea.

Laos

noun

A landlocked country in Southeast Asia, whose capital is Vientiane.

laotian

noun

A person from Laos, or of Lao origin.

laozi

name

An honorific title given to Li Er, the legendary Taoist philosopher supposedly active in the 5th and 6th centuries BC, who has since been worshipped, in Chinese mythology, as a Taoist god.

lap

noun

The flat area formed by the thighs of a seated person.

laparoscopy

noun

An examination or surgical procedure carried out inside the abdominal cavity using a thin instrument called a laparoscope.

LAPD

noun

A telecommunications signalling protocol (Link Access Procedures, D channel) used on the control channel of an ISDN connection.

lapel

noun

One of the two folded-back flaps of cloth on the front of a jacket or coat, running down from the collar.

lapidary

noun

Someone who cuts, polishes and engraves gems and precious stones, or who trades in them.

lapidate

verb

To pelt someone with stones or other objects as a punishment, occasionally to the point of killing them.

lapidation

noun

The practice or act of throwing stones at someone as a punishment, sometimes until they die.

lapierre

name

A surname of French, equivalent to English Stone origin.

Lapland

proper noun

A region spanning the far north of Scandinavia and Finland, plus part of Russia's Kola Peninsula, traditionally home to the Sami people and closely associated with reindeer and Arctic winters.

Lapointe

name

A French surname meaning "the point," often referring to a geographic landmark.

lapped

adjective

In a race, having fallen so far behind the leader that they have completed one fewer full circuit of the track or course.

lappet

noun

A small flap or fold of fabric, often lace, used to decorate a piece of clothing or a headdress.

lapping

noun

The soft, repeated sound of water gently striking a surface, such as waves against a shore or boat.

lapsarian

adj

Relating to humanity's fall from a state of innocence.

lapse

noun

A brief slip or failure, especially a temporary lowering of standards or attention.

lapsed

adj

No longer active or valid; having expired through neglect or non-renewal.

lapsing

noun

The process of something coming to an end or stopping being valid.

laptop

noun

A portable personal computer, small and light enough to use on your lap.

laputan

adj

Wildly unrealistic, especially in a scientific or philosophical idea.

lapwing

noun

A medium-sized wading bird of the plover family, especially the northern lapwing.

lar

noun

A title used in ancient Etruscan society, properly reserved for an eldest son, though sometimes mistaken by later readers for part of a personal name.

Lara

name

A feminine given name, possibly derived from Latin or a Slavic short form of Larissa.

Larabee

name

An English surname, a variant spelling of Larrabee.

Laramie

name

A city in the U.S. state of Wyoming, named after French-Canadian trapper Jacques La Ramie.

larboard

noun

An old term for the left-hand side of a ship, as seen when facing forward; now usually called port.

larcener

noun

A person who steals; a thief.

larcenist

noun

A person who steals someone else's property; a thief.

larcenous

adj

Inclined to steal, or having the habits of a thief.

larceny

noun

The crime of unlawfully taking someone else's property with the intent to keep it permanently.

larch

noun

A coniferous tree of the genus Larix, whose leaves grow in tufts and are shed each year.

lard

noun

Soft white fat from a pig, rendered down and used in cooking or baking.

larder

noun

A cool room or cupboard in a house used for storing food.

lardy

adj

Containing a lot of lard, or having a texture similar to it.

Laredo

name

A city in Texas on the border with Mexico, named after Laredo, Spain.

large

adj

Big in size, amount, or extent.

large amount

noun

A quantity of something that is big relative to what is usual or expected, used of things measured in bulk — money, water, time, data — rather than counted individually.

largeish

adj

Fairly big; bigger than average.

largely

adv

Mostly or mainly.

largeness

noun

Generosity of spirit.

largifluous

adj

Flowing in great amounts; plentiful.

largo

noun

A very slow musical tempo, or a piece played at that tempo.

lariat

noun

A wrestling move in which a fighter runs at an opponent and knocks them down by swinging an arm across the neck and chest.

larisa

name

A Latin-alphabet rendering of the Russian female forename Лари́са (Larísa).

Larissa

name

A feminine given name of Greek origin, also the name of an ancient Greek city.

lark

noun

A small songbird known for its cheerful singing, often heard early in the morning.

Larkin

name

An Irish surname derived from a nickname meaning "rough" or "fierce."

Laroche

name

A French surname meaning "the rock."

larp

noun

A game in which players act out characters and stories in real life.

larping

verb

Taking part in live action role play: physically acting out a character in costume, in a game with other players.

Larrabee

name

An English surname of uncertain origin, found mainly in New England families.

larrup

noun

A hard hit or slap.

larruping

adj

(informal) Excellent; very good.

Larry

noun

(informal, chiefly Australian/British) A loud commotion, uproar, or fuss.

Lars

name

A masculine given name common in Scandinavia, a form of Laurence meaning "from Laurentum."

Larsen

name

A Scandinavian surname meaning "son of Lars."

Larson

name

A surname of Scandinavian origin meaning "son of Lars."

Larsson

name

A Swedish surname meaning "son of Lars," notably borne by author Stieg Larsson.

Larue

name

A French surname and given name meaning "the street."

larva

noun

The early, immature form of an insect or amphibian after hatching, before it changes into its adult shape.

laryngeal

adj

Relating to the larynx, the part of the throat that holds the vocal cords.