loaf|er /loʊ fə r / (loafers ) N‑COUNT Loafers are flat leather shoes with no straps or laces. [mainly AM ]
loam /loʊ m/ N‑UNCOUNT Loam is soil that is good for growing crops and plants in because it contains a lot of decayed vegetable matter and does not contain too much sand or clay.
loan ◆◆◇ /loʊ n/ (loans , loaning , loaned )
1 N‑COUNT A loan is a sum of money that you borrow. □ The president wants to make it easier for small businesses to get bank loans. □ …loan repayments.
2 → see also bridging loan , soft loan
3 N‑SING If someone gives you a loan of something, you borrow it from them. □ [+ of ] He had offered the loan of his small villa at Cap Ferrat.
4 VERB If you loan something to someone, you lend it to them. □ [V n n] He had kindly offered to loan us all the plants required for the exhibit. □ [V n + to ] We were approached by the Royal Yachting Association to see if we would loan our boat to them. [Also V n] ● PHRASAL VERB Loan out means the same as loan . □ [V P n + to ] It is common practice for clubs to loan out players to sides in the lower divisions. □ [be V -ed out ] The ground was loaned out for numerous events including pop concerts. [Also V n P , V P n]
5 PHRASE If something is on loan , it has been borrowed. □ …impressionist paintings on loan from the National Gallery. SYNONYMS loan NOUN 1
advance: She was paid a £100,000 advance for her next two novels.
credit: The group can't get credit to buy farming machinery.
mortgage: There has been an increase in mortgage rates. VERB 4
advance: I advanced him some money, which he would repay on our way home.
lend: I had to lend him ten pounds to take his children to the pictures.
loa n shark (loan sharks ) N‑COUNT If you describe someone as a loan shark , you disapprove of them because they lend money to people and charge them very high rates of interest on the loan. [INFORMAL , DISAPPROVAL ]
loath /loʊ θ/ also loth ADJ If you are loath to do something, you do not want to do it. □ [+ to-inf] The new finance minister seems loth to cut income tax.
loathe /loʊ ð/ (loathes , loathing , loathed ) VERB If you loathe something or someone, you dislike them very much. □ [V n] The two men loathe each other. □ [V v-ing] She loathed being the child of impoverished labourers.
loath|ing /loʊ ð I ŋ/ N‑UNCOUNT Loathing is a feeling of great dislike and disgust. □ She looked at him with loathing.
loath|some /loʊ ðsəm/ ADJ If you describe someone or something as loathsome , you are indicating how much you dislike them or how much they disgust you. □ …the loathsome spectacle we were obliged to witness.
loaves /loʊ vz/ Loaves is the plural of loaf .
lob /lɒ b/ (lobs , lobbing , lobbed ) VERB If you lob something, you throw it so that it goes quite high in the air. □ [V n prep/adv] Enemy forces lobbed a series of artillery shells onto the city. □ [V n] A group of protesters gathered outside, chanting and lobbing firebombs.
lob|by ◆◇◇ /lɒ bi/ (lobbies , lobbying , lobbied )
1 VERB If you lobby someone such as a member of a government or council, you try to persuade them that a particular law should be changed or that a particular thing should be done. □ [V n] Carers from all over the U.K. lobbied Parliament last week to demand a better financial deal. □ [V + for ] Gun control advocates are lobbying hard for new laws. [Also V + against ] ● lob|by|ing N‑UNCOUNT □ [+ by ] The aid was frozen in June after intense lobbying by conservative Republicans.
2 N‑COUNT A lobby is a group of people who represent a particular organization or campaign, and try to persuade a government or council to help or support them. □ [+ of ] He set up this lobby of independent producers.
3 N‑COUNT In a hotel or other large building, the lobby is the area near the entrance that usually has corridors and staircases leading off it. □ [+ of ] I met her in the lobby of the museum.
lob|by|ist /lɒ bi I st/ (lobbyists ) N‑COUNT A lobbyist is someone who tries actively to persuade a government or council that a particular law should be changed or that a particular thing should be done.
lobe /loʊ b/ (lobes )
1 N‑COUNT The lobe of your ear is the soft, fleshy part at the bottom.
2 N‑COUNT A lobe is a rounded part of something, for example one of the sections of your brain or lungs, or one of the rounded sections along the edges of some leaves. □ [+ of ] …damage to the temporal lobe of the brain.
lo|boto|my /ləbɒ təmi/ (lobotomies ) N‑VAR A lobotomy is a surgical operation in which some of the nerves in the brain are cut in order to treat severe mental illness. [MEDICAL ]
lob|ster /lɒ bstə r / (lobsters ) N‑VAR A lobster is a sea creature that has a hard shell, two large claws, and eight legs. □ She sold me a couple of live lobsters. ● N‑UNCOUNT Lobster is the flesh of a lobster eaten as food. □ …lobster on a bed of fresh vegetables.
lo b|ster pot (lobster pots ) N‑COUNT A lobster pot is a trap used for catching lobsters. It is in the shape of a basket.