libido
Americannoun
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libidos
plural
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Psychoanalysis. all of the instinctual energies and desires that are derived from the id.
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sexual instinct or sexual drive.
noun
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psychoanal psychic energy emanating from the id
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sexual urge or desire
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Libido is loosely used to mean sexual desire.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of libido
First recorded in 1890–95; from Latin libīdō “desire, willfulness, lust,” akin to libēre “to be pleasing”
Explanation
Libido is a person's sexual desire. Once a year? Once a week? Once a day? There is no correct answer, because everyone's libido is different. However, you hope your partner's is similar to yours! Libido has only been a word for about 100 years, though the urge to have sex has been around, well, as long as we have. It is Latin for “desire, lust.” You may have heard that the libido changes over the course of a person's life, and that you can even "lose" it if you are, for example, depressed or taking certain medications. People often think famous psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud coined the term. It isn't true, though he did popularize it in his writings on sexual urges.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Other users taking counterfeit versions of retatrutide have reported a range of issues including brain fog, nausea, diarrhoea, a loss of libido and no longer being able to feel any happiness or joy.
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026
Doctors are clear that treatment is only needed if your levels are low and you experience symptoms such as low libido, low energy and mood, and loss of muscle mass or bone.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
Both Mills and Saxbe stress that men should be paying attention to symptoms of low testosterone — such as depression and low libido — rather than trying to reach or maintain an ideal number.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 10, 2026
The agency also sought to get testosterone therapy to more cis men in order to help boost their libido.
From Salon ● May 13, 2026
In the first place, I should like you to take note of the intimate connection between the libido and the unconscious on the one hand, and on the other of the ego, consciousness, and reality.
From A General Introduction to Psychoanalysis by Sigmund Freud
We are not defined by our bellies or our libidos.
From Washington Times ● Jun. 11, 2023
But experts say neither Chinese nor Vietnamese traditional medicine ever viewed rhino horn as an aphrodisiac to boost flagging libidos.
From Scientific American ● Mar. 20, 2018
There is a bigger problem here than incompatible libidos: You don’t know how to tell him how you feel.
From Slate ● Mar. 18, 2015
Her women are authority figures with sharp minds and potent libidos who are respected, even haughty members of the ruling elite, not maids or nurses or office workers.
From New York Times ● Sep. 18, 2014
Stuffing themselves with comfort food, the shrinks cross egos and libidos while pondering such subjects as Self/Other Friction Theory.
From Time Magazine Archive
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
