7 PHRASE If you strike lucky or strike it lucky , you have some good luck. [mainly BRIT , INFORMAL ] □ You may strike lucky and find a sympathetic and helpful clerk, but, there again, you might not.
lu cky di p (lucky dips ) N‑COUNT a lucky dip is a game in which you take a prize out of a container full of hidden prizes and then find out what you have chosen. [BRIT ] in AM, use grab bag
lu|cra|tive /luː krət I v/ ADJ A lucrative activity, job, or business deal is very profitable. □ Thousands of ex-army officers have found lucrative jobs in private security firms.
lu|cre /luː kə r / N‑UNCOUNT People sometimes refer to money or profit as lucre , especially when they think that it has been obtained by dishonest means. [HUMOROUS or OLD-FASHIONED , DISAPPROVAL ] □ …so they can feel less guilty about their piles of filthy lucre.
Lud|dite /lʌ da I t/ (Luddites ) N‑COUNT [oft N n] If you refer to someone as a Luddite , you are criticizing them for opposing changes in industrial methods, especially the introduction of new machines and modern methods. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ The majority have a built-in Luddite mentality; they are resistant to change.
lu|di|crous /luː d I krəs/ ADJ If you describe something as ludicrous , you are emphasizing that you think it is foolish, unreasonable, or unsuitable. [EMPHASIS ] □ It was ludicrous to suggest that the visit could be kept secret. □ It's a completely ludicrous idea. ● lu|di|crous|ly ADV □ By Western standards the prices are ludicrously low.
lug /lʌ g/ (lugs , lugging , lugged ) VERB If you lug a heavy or awkward object somewhere, you carry it there with difficulty. [INFORMAL ] □ [V n with adv] Nobody wants to lug around huge suitcases full of clothes. □ [V n prep] I hastily packed the hamper and lugged it to the car. [Also V n]
luge /luː ʒ/ (luges ) N‑COUNT A luge is an object that is designed to be used for racing downhill over snow or ice. Riders lie on their backs and travel with their feet pointing towards the front of the luge.
lug|gage /lʌ g I dʒ/
1 N‑UNCOUNT Luggage is the suitcases and bags that you take with you when travel. □ Leave your luggage in the hotel. □ Each passenger was allowed two 30-kg pieces of luggage.
2 → see also left luggage
lu g|gage rack (luggage racks )
1 N‑COUNT A luggage rack is a shelf for putting luggage on, on a vehicle such as a train or bus.
2 N‑COUNT A luggage rack is a metal frame that is fixed on top of a car and used for carrying large objects. [AM ] in BRIT, use roof rack
lu|gu|bri|ous /luːguː briəs/ ADJ If you say that someone or something is lugubrious , you mean that they are sad rather than lively or cheerful. [LITERARY ] □ …a tall, thin man with a long and lugubrious face. □ He plays some passages so slowly that they become lugubrious. ● lu|gu|bri|ous|ly ADV [ADV with v, oft ADV adj] □ The dog gazed at us lugubriously for a few minutes.
luke|warm /luː kwɔː m/
1 ADJ Something, especially a liquid, that is lukewarm is only slightly warm. □ Wash your face with lukewarm water. □ The coffee was weak and lukewarm.
2 ADJ If you describe a person or their attitude as lukewarm , you mean that they are not showing much enthusiasm or interest. □ The study received a lukewarm response from the Home Secretary.
lull /lʌ l/ (lulls , lulling , lulled )
1 N‑COUNT A lull is a period of quiet or calm in a longer period of activity or excitement. □ [+ in ] There was a lull in political violence after the election of the current president. □ [+ in ] …a lull in the conversation.
2 VERB If you are lulled into feeling safe, someone or something causes you to feel safe at a time when you are not safe. □ [be V -ed + into ] It is easy to be lulled into a false sense of security. □ [V -ed] Lulled by almost uninterrupted economic growth, too many European firms assumed that this would last for ever. [Also V n + into ]
3 VERB If someone or something lulls you, they cause you to feel calm or sleepy. □ [V n + into/to ] Before he knew it, the heat and hum of the forest had lulled him to sleep. [Also V n ]
4 PHRASE If you describe a situation as the lull before the storm , you mean that although it is calm now, there is going to be trouble in the future.
lulla|by /lʌ ləba I / (lullabies ) N‑COUNT A lullaby is a quiet song which is intended to be sung to babies and young children to help them go to sleep.
lum|ba|go /lʌmbe I goʊ/ N‑UNCOUNT If someone has lumbago , they have pains in the lower part of their back.
lum|bar /lʌ mbə r / ADJ [ADJ n] Lumbar means relating to the lower part of your back. [MEDICAL ] □ Lumbar support is very important if you're driving a long way.
lum|ber /lʌ mbə r / (lumbers , lumbering , lumbered )
1 N‑UNCOUNT Lumber consists of trees and large pieces of wood that have been roughly cut up. [mainly AM ] □ It was made of soft lumber, spruce by the look of it. □ He was going to have to purchase all his lumber at full retail price.
2 VERB If someone or something lumbers from one place to another, they move there very slowly and clumsily. □ [V adv/prep] He turned and lumbered back to his chair. □ [V -ing] He looked straight ahead and overtook a lumbering lorry.