love

LUV/lʌv/

Verbloves, loving, loved

Noun pluralloves

18 meanings of love

Practice

1
verbtransitive or intransitive
To care very much about someone or something.
Like how you feel about your closest friend.
I love my little brother more than anything.
She has finally learned to love without fear.
UsageUsually say I love you, rather than I am loving you.
Similaradore, cherish, treasure
Oppositehate, loathe, detest
2
verbtransitive
To like something very much.
Like saying you really, really like something.
I love pizza on Friday nights.
Kids love a day off from school.
UsageSay I'd love to! to say yes to an invitation.
Similarenjoy, adore, relish
Oppositehate, loathe, detest, dislike
Note
3
nouncountable or uncountable
A strong romantic or sexual feeling for someone.
Like the spark that pulls two people toward each other.
She felt a rush of love the moment their eyes met.
She went red and could not hide her love for the handsome new boy.
UsageSay fall in love with someone.
Similarpassion, desire, infatuation, attraction, adoration
Oppositehatred
Note
4
nouncountable or uncountable
A strong, warm feeling of caring about someone, like a parent's feeling for a child.
Like wanting good things for everyone around you.
Her love for the poor drove her to volunteer every weekend.
He showed great love toward every animal he rescued.
Similaraffection, devotion, fondness, care, tenderness
Oppositehatred, hate, indifference
Note
5
enthusiasmnouncountable or uncountable
A strong liking or excitement for something you enjoy.
Like how you feel about your favorite game or hobby.
Her love of music began when she was very young.
A shared love of hiking brought the whole group together.
UsageSay a love of music.
Similarpassion, enthusiasm, fondness, liking, devotion
Oppositehate, hatred, indifference
Note
6
nouncountable
A person that you have romantic feelings for.
Like the special someone whose name makes you smile.
She introduced her new love to the whole family.
He wrote to his love every week while stationed abroad.
UsageSay my love or my first love.
Similarsweetheart, darling, honey, babe, dear
Note
7
romancenouncountable or uncountable
A time when someone is in love, or a romantic relationship.
Like a short, sweet story with a beginning and an end.
Their summer love ended when she moved away.
It was a brief but unforgettable love.
UsageOften with a and a word before it: a summer love, a brief love.
Similarromance
Note

Less common meanings

8
letter endingnouncountable or uncountable
A warm word written at the end of a letter, before your name.
Like the friendly word you write just before your name in a note.
She ended the postcard with 'Love, Grandma' and a row of kisses.
He always closes his notes to his sister with a simple 'Love.'
UsagePut a comma after Love before your name, or write Lots of love.
Note
9
zero (tennis)noununcountable
A score of zero in tennis and some other games.
Like a big zero on the scoreboard.
She won the opening game to love, dropping no points.
After he won the first two points, the score was thirty-love.
UsageThirty-love means 30 to 0.
Similarzero, nil, nothing
Note
10
favorite thingnouncountable or uncountable
An activity or thing that someone likes very much or feels excited about.
Like the one hobby you would never give up.
Sailing was the great love of his life.
Cooking remains her first love after all these years.
UsageSay painting is his first love.
Similarpassion, delight, joy, obsession
Note
11
do well withverbtransitive
To need something and do really well with it.
Tomatoes love plenty of sun and water.
Bacteria love warm, wet kitchen sponges.
UsageUsed for plants, animals and things: tomatoes love sun.
Similarneed, like, enjoy, relish
Oppositehate, dislike
12
dear (address)nouncolloquialCommonwealthcountable or uncountable
A friendly word used to speak to someone, even a stranger.
Like calling someone 'buddy' or 'dear' without meaning anything special by it.
What can I get for you, love?
Don't worry, love, your bus is coming soon.
UsageThanks, love is friendly, not romantic.
Similardarling, sweetie, mate, sweetheart, lovey
Note
13
heart a postverbtransitive
To tap the heart button on a post online to show you like it.
Twenty people loved my post before I even woke up.
Tap twice on the picture to love it.
UsageShe loved my photo can also mean she liked it very much, without pressing a button.
Similarheart
Note
14
have sexnouneuphemisticcountable or uncountable
The act of having sex.
After years apart, they spent a night of love together.
The song is about a long night of love.
Similarsex, intercourse, lovemaking, intimacy, copulation
Note
15
have sexverbeuphemistictransitive
A gentle way of saying to have sex with someone.
They closed the bedroom door, and he loved her until the candle burned out.
She wanted to love him one last time before he left on the morning train.
Note
16
without rewardnoununcountable
No pay or reward, done for free instead of for money.
Like helping a friend move and not asking for anything back.
She tends the village garden purely for love, never taking a penny.
He coaches the kids' team for love, not money.
UsageUsually in for love, often followed by not money.
Similarnothing
Oppositemoney, pay
Note
17
silk fabricnounobsoletecountable or uncountable
A kind of thin silk cloth.
Such a kind of transparency, as that of a Sive, a piece of Cyprus, or a Love-Hood.
1664, Robert Boyle, Experiments and Considerations Touching ColoursHere, Love means a thin, see-through silk cloth.
Note
18
nounrare
A climbing plant with white flowers and fluffy seed heads.

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of love apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meanings 1–8, 10–15, 17

This word comes from Old English 'lufu', going back to an old Proto-Indo-European root meaning 'love, care, desire'. The verb comes from Old English 'lufian', made from the noun.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

Love comes from Old English lufu. en.wiktionary.org
Its ancestry goes back to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning love, care, desire. en.wiktionary.org
The verb descends from Old English lufian. en.wiktionary.org
The verb derives historically from the noun. en.wiktionary.org

Meanings 9, 16

This sense (meaning 'zero') is now thought to come from the idea that doing something 'for love' means for no money, so 'love' suggests 'nothing'. The old idea that it came from French 'l'œuf' ('the egg'), because of the egg's round shape, is no longer widely accepted.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

The zero sense is thought to derive from playing ‘for love’, without monetary stakes. en.wikipedia.org
The French egg theory, based on shape, is no longer widely accepted; l’œuf means ‘the egg’. en.wiktionary.org