2 ADJ If you describe someone as lousy , you mean that they are very bad at something they do. [INFORMAL ] □ I was a lousy secretary. □ [+ at ] There can be no argument about how lousy he is at public relations.
3 ADJ If you describe the number or amount of something as lousy , you mean it is smaller than you think it should be. [INFORMAL ] □ The pay is lousy.
4 ADJ If you feel lousy , you feel very ill. [INFORMAL ] □ I wasn't actually sick but I felt lousy.
lout /laʊ t/ (louts ) N‑COUNT If you describe a man or boy as a lout , you are critical of them because they behave in an impolite or aggressive way. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ …a drunken lout.
lout|ish /laʊ t I ʃ/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] If you describe a man or a boy as loutish , you are critical of them because their behaviour is impolite and aggressive. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ I was appalled by the loutish behaviour.
lou|vre /luː və r / (louvres ) in AM, use louver N‑COUNT [oft N n] A louvre is a door or window with narrow, flat, sloping pieces of wood or glass across its frame.
lov|able /lʌ vəb ə l/ ADJ If you describe someone as lovable , you mean that they have attractive qualities, and are easy to like. □ His vulnerability makes him even more lovable.
love ◆◆◆ /lʌ v/ (loves , loving , loved )
1 VERB If you love someone, you feel romantically or sexually attracted to them, and they are very important to you. □ [V n] Oh, Amy, I love you. □ [V n] We love each other. We want to spend our lives together.
2 N‑UNCOUNT Love is a very strong feeling of affection towards someone who you are romantically or sexually attracted to. □ [+ for ] Our love for each other has been increased by what we've been through together. □ …a old fashioned love story. □ …an album of love songs.
3 VERB You say that you love someone when their happiness is very important to you, so that you behave in a kind and caring way towards them. □ [V n] You'll never love anyone the way you love your baby.
4 N‑UNCOUNT Love is the feeling that a person's happiness is very important to you, and the way you show this feeling in your behaviour towards them. □ [+ for ] My love for all my children is unconditional. □ She's got a great capacity for love.
5 VERB If you love something, you like it very much. □ [V n/v-ing] We loved the food so much, especially the fish dishes. □ [V n/v-ing] I loved reading. □ [V to-inf] …one of these people that loves to be in the outdoors. □ [V it wh] I love it when I hear you laugh.
6 VERB You can say that you love something when you consider that it is important and want to protect or support it. □ [V n] I love my country as you love yours.
7 N‑UNCOUNT Love is a strong liking for something, or a belief that it is important. □ [+ of ] The French are known for their love of their language.
8 N‑COUNT [usu with poss] Your love is someone or something that you love. □ 'She is the love of my life,' he said. □ Music's one of my great loves.
9 VERB If you would love to have or do something, you very much want to have it or do it. □ [V to-inf] I would love to play for England again. □ [V n] I would love a hot bath and clean clothes. □ [V n to-inf] His wife would love him to give up his job.
10 N‑COUNT Some people use love as an affectionate way of addressing someone. [BRIT , INFORMAL , FEELINGS ] □ Well, I'll take your word for it then, love. □ Don't cry, my love.
11 NUM In tennis, love is a score of zero. □ He beat the Austrian three sets to love.
12 CONVENTION You can use expressions such as ' love ', ' love from ', and ' all my love ', followed by your name, as an informal way of ending a letter to a friend or relation. □ …with love from Grandma and Grandpa.
13 N‑UNCOUNT If you send someone your love , you ask another person, who will soon be speaking or writing to them, to tell them that you are thinking about them with affection. □ Please give her my love.
14 → see also free love , -loved , loving , peace-loving , tug-of-love
15 PHRASE If you fall in love with someone, you start to be in love with them. □ [+ with ] I fell in love with him because of his kind nature. □ We fell madly in love.
16 PHRASE If you fall in love with something, you start to like it very much. □ Working with Ford closely, I fell in love with the cinema.
17 PHRASE If you are in love with someone, you feel romantically or sexually attracted to them, and they are very important to you. □ Laura had never before been in love. □ [+ with ] I've never really been in love with anyone. □ We were madly in love for about two years.
18 PHRASE If you are in love with something, you like it very much. □ He had always been in love with the enchanted landscape of the West.
19 PHRASE When two people make love , they have sex. □ [+ to ] Have you ever made love to a girl before? [Also + with ] COLLOCATIONS love VERB 1
love + adverb : dearly, unconditionally NOUN 2