English Dictionary — Definitions & Meanings

liner

noun

A large passenger ship that travels a regular route.

Lines

noun

Plural of "line" — marks, rows, sequences of words, or planned routes, among other senses.

linesman

noun

An official who assists the main referee.

lineup

noun

A group of suspects presented together so a witness can try to identify one of them.

ling

noun

A long, slender saltwater fish related to cod, used as food.

lingam

noun

A symbolic representation of the god Shiva, typically a smooth, upright stone form, worshipped in Hinduism.

linger

verb

To stay in a place longer than necessary, often reluctant to leave.

lingerie

noun

Women's underwear or nightwear, especially delicate or lacy styles.

lingering

adjective

Continuing to exist or be noticeable long after you would expect it to have gone.

lingo

noun

The specialized vocabulary or way of speaking used by a particular group, trade, or region; jargon.

lingonberry

noun

A lingonberry is a low, berry-bearing shrub, Vaccinium vitis-idaea, native to cool temperate parts of the Northern Hemisphere.

lingua

noun

Another word for the tongue.

linguaphile

noun

Someone with a great enthusiasm for words and languages.

linguist

noun

A scholar who studies the structure and history of language.

linguistic

adj

Relating to language or the study of language.

linguistics

noun

The academic study of language — its structure, sounds, meaning, and history.

lining

noun

A layer of material covering or added to the inside of something.

link

verb

To join two or more things together, or to show a connection between them.

linkage

noun

A connection or relationship between two things or ideas.

linked

adj

Connected to something else, whether physically or in cause and effect.

linker

noun

Something that joins or connects other things.

linking

adj

Serving to connect or join separate things.

links

noun

A golf course, especially one built on grassy dunes near the sea.

linn

noun

A waterfall, or the deep pool or ravine it forms.

linnet

noun

A small European finch with brown, streaked plumage, often found in open countryside.

linoleum

noun

A durable, wipeable floor covering originally made from hardened linseed oil on a canvas backing.

linsey

noun

A fabric woven from a mixture of linen and wool.

lint

noun

Small bits of soft fluff that collect on clothing or in pockets.

lintel

noun

A beam laid flat across the top of a door or window to hold up the wall above it.

Linton

name

The name of several villages in England, Scotland, Australia, New Zealand, the US, and Canada.

Linus

name

A male first name of Latin and Greek origin.

Linux

name

The free, open-source operating system kernel created by Linus Torvalds in 1991.

Linz

name

The capital of Upper Austria and the third-largest city in Austria.

lion

noun

A large, powerfully built wild cat native to Africa and parts of India, the male typically having a shaggy mane.

lionback

noun

A lion's back, used for riding or carrying loads.

Lionel

name

A male first name of Latin of mostly British usage origin.

lioness

noun

A female lion.

Lionesses

noun

Plural of lioness; also a nickname for England's national women's football team.

lionheart

noun

A person of exceptional courage and bravery.

lionhearted

adj

Extremely brave and noble-spirited.

lionize

verb

To treat someone as a famous or highly admired figure.

lions

name

The Sri Lanka national cricket team.

lip

noun

Either of the two fleshy edges around the mouth.

lipid

noun

Any of a group of organic compounds, including fats, oils, waxes and sterols, that do not dissolve in water.

liposuction

noun

A cosmetic surgery procedure that removes excess fat from under the skin using suction.

lippy

adj

Cheeky, mouthy, or prone to talking back rudely.

lips

noun

Plural of lip; the fleshy edges around the mouth.

lipstick

noun

A cosmetic, usually in stick form, applied to color the lips.

Lipton

name

A surname, also a well-known tea brand named after its founder.

liquefy

verb

To turn something into a liquid.

liqueur

noun

A sweet, often strong alcoholic drink, usually served after a meal or used in cocktails.

liquid

noun

A substance, such as water, that flows freely and takes the shape of its container without a fixed shape of its own.

liquidate

verb

To convert assets into cash, often to pay off debts.

liquidated

adj

Having had assets converted to cash or a business formally wound up.

liquidation

noun

The process of closing down a business by selling its assets and settling debts.

liquidator

noun

A person whose job is to liquidate something, such as a company's assets.

liquidiser

noun

A non-Oxford British English standard spelling of liquidizer.

liquidity

noun

A company's or market's ability to convert assets into cash quickly, or the availability of cash to meet short-term obligations.

liquidizer

noun

(British) A kitchen machine that chops or purees food; a blender.

liquidness

noun

The state of being in liquid form.

liquor

noun

A strong distilled alcoholic drink, such as whisky, vodka, or gin.

liquorice

noun

British spelling of licorice: a black, strongly flavored candy or the plant root it is made from.

liquory

adj

(informal) Drunk from alcohol.

lira

noun

Turkey's basic unit of currency.

lire

noun

Plural of lira.

lis

noun

A legal dispute or lawsuit, as used in legal terminology.

Lisa

name

A feminine given name of Hebrew origin, a diminutive of Elisabeth.

Lisbon

name

The name of a port city situated on the Iberian Peninsula where the Tagus River meets the Atlantic Ocean, and the capital of Portugal.

Lise

name

A feminine given name of French or Scandinavian origin, a variant of Lisa.

Lisette

name

A feminine given name of French origin.

Lisi

name

An Italian surname.

lisle

noun

A strong cotton thread, or fabric made from it.

lisp

verb

To pronounce the sounds 's' and 'z' as 'th', usually as a speech habit rather than deliberately.

lisping

noun

Speech affected by a lisp — where "s" and "z" sounds come out closer to "th".

liss

name

A village and civil parish in East Hampshire district, Hampshire, England (OS grid ref SU7727).

list

noun

A series of names, items, or numbers written or said one after another.

listed

adj

Recorded on an official list.

listee

noun

Someone whose name appears on a list.

listen

verb

To pay attention with your ears in order to hear something.

listener

noun

A person who listens, especially to a broadcast, speech, or another person talking.

listenership

noun

The people who listen to a particular radio programme, podcast or similar broadcast.

listening

noun

The skill or act of paying attention to spoken sound.

lister

noun

Someone (or something) that makes or keeps a list.

listing

noun

A single entry in a list, directory, or catalogue.

listless

adj

Lacking energy or enthusiasm; tired and uninterested in doing anything.

listlessness

noun

A tired, low-energy feeling of not caring about anything.

listmaker

noun

A person who writes lists.

Liston

name

A surname; also a village in Essex, England, and a village in New South Wales, Australia.

Liszt

name

A Hungarian surname, most famously borne by the composer and pianist Franz Liszt.

lit

verb

Past tense and past participle of light, used for setting something on fire or turning on a light.

Lita

name

A feminine given name; also a parish in Imbabura province, Ecuador.

litany

noun

A set of prayers recited in a call-and-response pattern between a leader and a congregation.

lite

adj

A deliberately simplified spelling of "light," used to mean low-calorie, low-fat, or stripped-down.

liter

noun

A liter is the American spelling of litre, a metric unit of volume equal to one cubic decimetre.

literacy

noun

The ability to read and write.

literal

adjective

Taking the words of something in their basic, ordinary sense, without metaphor or exaggeration.

literally

adv

In a literal, exact sense; word for word, without exaggeration.

literary

adj

Relating to literature, especially fiction, poetry, and other creative writing.

literate

adj

Able to read and write.

literature

noun

Written works, especially novels, plays, and poetry, valued for their artistic quality.

lithate

noun

(chemistry) A salt formed from uric acid; also called a urate.

lithe

adj

Slender without being thin to excess.

lither

adj

(archaic) Lazy and unwilling to make an effort.

lithesome

adj

Moving in a graceful, supple way.

lithia

noun

A compound of lithium and oxygen, used in making pottery and glass.

lithiated

adj

Given a treatment containing lithium.

lithic

adj

Made of or connected with stone.

lithiophilite

noun

A mineral, a kind of triphylite, made up of lithium and manganese combined with phosphate.

lithiophorite

noun

A basic oxide of lithium, manganese and aluminium found in hydrothermal ore deposits and sedimentary manganese deposits, with the chemical formula (Al,Li)Mn⁴⁺O₂(OH)₂.

lithium

noun

A soft, silvery metal that is the lightest of all metals, used in batteries (symbol Li, atomic number 3).

lithographer

noun

Someone whose job is producing lithographs, prints made using a special flat-surface printing method.

lithography

noun

A printing method in which an image is drawn on a flat surface with a water-repellent material, then transferred to paper using water and ink.

lithosphere

noun

The hard outermost shell of the Earth, split into large tectonic plates.

Lithuania

name

A country in northeastern Europe on the Baltic Sea, officially the Republic of Lithuania.

Lithuanian

adj

Relating to Lithuania, its people, or its language.

litigant

noun

A person or group who is bringing or facing a lawsuit, or who otherwise asks the courts to settle the outcome of a case.

litigate

verb

To take a dispute to a court of law.

litigation

noun

The process of taking or defending a legal case in court.

litigator

noun

A lawyer who specializes in representing clients in court cases.

litmus

noun

A dye taken from certain lichens that changes colour depending on whether it touches an acid or an alkali.

litotes

noun

A way of speaking in which you show something is true by denying its opposite.

litre

noun

(UK/metric spelling) A unit of volume equal to one cubic decimetre, used for measuring liquids.

Litt

name

A surname.

litter

noun

Rubbish or trash left lying around in a public place.

littered

adj

Covered or scattered with trash or debris.

littering

noun

The act of dropping or leaving trash in a public place.

little

adj

Small in size.

Littlejohn

name

A surname, said to derive from a nickname.

Littleton

name

A common English place name and habitational surname, shared by many villages in England and towns in the United States.

Litton

name

A surname; also the name of several English villages, including in Derbyshire and North Yorkshire.

littoral

adj

Connected with the coast, especially the area near the sea.

liturgical

adjective

Relating to liturgy, the set forms of public worship used by a religious community.

liturgy

noun

A set of prescribed rituals performed in worship, or the book in which they are written down.

Liu

name

A common Chinese surname, from Mandarin 劉/刘 (liú) or Cantonese 廖 (liu⁶).

Liv

noun

A member of the Livonian people, an ethnic group native to the coast of present-day Latvia.

livable

adj

Fit to be lived in; tolerable or comfortable as a way of life.

live

verb

To be alive; to have life.

lived

adj

Having existed for a certain length of time (used in combinations like "short-lived" or "long-lived").

livelihood

noun

A means of earning enough to live on, such as a job, trade, or income source.

liveliness

noun

The quality of being full of energy and enthusiasm.

lively

adj

Full of energy and enthusiasm; active and spirited.

liven

verb

To make (or become) more lively, energetic, or interesting — usually followed by "up."

liver

noun

The large organ in the abdomen that filters the blood, processes nutrients, and removes toxins.

liverish

adj

Feeling slightly sick, especially in the stomach.

Liverpool

noun

A major port city in northwest England, on the River Mersey, known for its maritime history and music scene.

Livers

name

A surname of Dutch origin.

liverwort

noun

A small green plant without flowers that grows in damp places and is related to mosses.

liverwurst

noun

A soft, spreadable sausage made mainly from liver.

livery

noun

A distinctive uniform worn by servants, chauffeurs, or members of a particular group.

liveryman

noun

A person who works looking after horses for hire.