English Dictionary — Definitions & Meanings

lout

noun

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

Louvre

name

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

lovable

adj

Easy to love; endearing or adorable.

love

verb

To feel deep affection or care for someone or something.

Lovecraft

name

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

loved

adj

Held dear; cherished by someone.

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.

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.

lovesick

adj

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

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.

low

adj

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

Ls

noun

Informal shorthand for a driver's license.

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.

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.

lubricant

noun

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

lubrication

noun

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

Luca

name

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

Lucas

name

A male given name from Latin.

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.

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.

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.

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.

luckily

adverb

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

Lucknow

name

A city in India, the state capital of Uttar Pradesh.

lucky

adjective

Having good fortune; enjoying favourable outcomes without necessarily earning them.

lucrative

adjective

Generating a lot of profit; financially rewarding.

Lucretia

name

A feminine given name of Latin origin, also the name of a 6th-century BC Roman noblewoman whose story led to the fall of the Roman monarchy.

Lucy

noun

Slang term for the drug LSD.

ludicrous

adjective

So absurd or unreasonable that it's almost funny.

Ludlow

name

A placename: A town and civil parish with a town council in south Shropshire, England (OS grid ref SO5174).

Ludo

noun

A simple board game where players race coloured tokens around a track based on dice rolls.

Ludovic

name

A male given name, the French form of Louis/Ludwig.

Ludwig

name

A male given name of German origin, meaning roughly "famous warrior."

Luftwaffe

noun

The German air force, most often referred to in the context of the Second World War.

lug

verb

To carry or drag something heavy, usually with effort.

luger

noun

A German semi-automatic pistol widely used by German forces in both World Wars.

luggage

noun

Suitcases, bags, and other containers used to carry a traveller's belongings.

lugging

noun

The act of carrying or dragging something heavy and awkward from one place to another.

Lui

name

A Chinese surname, a romanization of a Cantonese family name.

Luigi

name

A male given name, the Italian equivalent of Louis.

Luis

name

A male given name, the Spanish form of Louis.

Luk

name

A surname derived from a Cantonese Chinese family name.

Luka

name

A male given name common across Slavic languages, related to Luke.

Lukas

name

A male given name derived from Latin, a variant of Lucas.

Luke

name

A common male given name, ultimately from Greek, meaning roughly "from Lucania."

lukewarm

adjective

Only slightly warm; neither hot nor cold.

lull

noun

A temporary period of calm or reduced activity.

lullaby

noun

A soft, soothing song sung to help a child fall asleep.

lulu

noun

Informal: someone or something remarkable, striking, or impressive.

lum

noun

Scots dialect for a chimney, or the top part of one.

lumbago

noun

Pain in the lower back, often caused by muscle strain or a slipped disc.

lumbar

adjective

Relating to the lower part of the back, between the ribs and the pelvis.

lumber

noun

Wood that has been sawn into boards or planks for building.

lumbering

adjective

Moving in a slow, heavy, and clumsy way.

lumberjack

noun

A person whose job is cutting down trees for timber.

lumen

noun

The standard unit for measuring the total amount of visible light emitted by a source.

luminol

noun

A chemical compound that glows blue when it reacts with certain oxidizing agents, widely used by forensic investigators to detect trace blood.

luminous

adjective

Giving off light; glowing.

lump

noun

A solid piece or mass of something without a definite shape.

lumps

noun

Informal: a physical beating, or harsh verbal criticism.

lumpy

adj

Full of lumps; not smooth or even.

luna

name

A female given name from Latin, meaning "moon."

lunacy

noun

Madness or insanity, especially of a kind once believed to come and go with the phases of the moon.

lunar

adj

Relating to, or associated with, the moon.

lunatic

noun

A person regarded as insane or wildly irrational (now considered old-fashioned and offensive as a clinical term).

lunch

noun

A meal eaten around the middle of the day.

lunchbox

noun

A container used to carry a packed meal, especially to school or work.

luncheon

noun

A formal meal eaten in the middle of the day.

lunching

noun

The act of eating lunch.

lunchroom

noun

A room set aside for eating lunch, such as in a school or workplace.

lunchtime

noun

The time of day when lunch is usually eaten.

Lund

name

A surname of Scandinavian or German origin, originally referring to someone who lived near a grove or small forest.

Lundgren

name

A Swedish surname.

Lundy

name

A small island in the Bristol Channel off the coast of Devon, England, known for its puffin colonies.

lune

noun

A crescent-shaped figure or object.

lung

noun

One of the pair of organs in the chest that breathe in air and pass oxygen into the blood.

lunge

noun

A sudden forward movement, such as an attack with a sword or an attempt to grab something.

lunged

adj

Having lungs of a specified kind (used in combinations like "strong-lunged").

Luo

noun

A Nilotic ethnic group native to parts of Kenya, Sudan, and neighbouring East African countries, or a member of this group.

lupe

noun

A short form of the given name Guadalupe, used especially in Spanish-speaking cultures.

lupin

noun

A tall garden plant with dense spikes of colourful flowers, in the pea family.

Lupo

name

An Italian surname meaning "wolf."

lupus

noun

An autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system attacks its own tissue, most commonly referring to systemic lupus erythematosus.

lurch

noun

A sudden, unsteady movement, especially forward or to one side.

lure

noun

Something that tempts or attracts, often with the promise of pleasure or reward.

lurid

adj

Shockingly graphic or sensational, especially about violence, scandal, or sex.

luring

noun

The act of tempting or attracting someone, often into danger or a trap.

lurk

verb

To stay hidden or out of sight, often with the intention to ambush or wait.

lurking

noun

The act of waiting or hiding somewhere quietly, often with the intent to watch, ambush, or avoid being noticed.

luscious

adj

Richly sweet, juicy, and delicious.

lush

adj

Growing thickly and vigorously; richly green and full of life.

lust

noun

A strong feeling of desire, especially sexual desire.

luster

noun

A gentle shine or sheen, especially on a surface like metal, hair, or pearls.

lustful

adj

Full of, or driven by, strong sexual desire.

Lustig

name

A surname, often of German or Jewish origin, meaning "cheerful" or "merry" in German.