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Synonyms

puppy love

American  

noun

  1. temporary infatuation of a boy or girl for another person.

puppy love British  

noun

  1. another term for calf love

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
puppy love Idioms  

  1. Also, calf love. Adolescent love or infatuation, especially one that is not expected to last, as in Beth is besotted with him, but we think it's just puppy love, or He's got a bad case of calf love. [First half of 1800s]

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.

Sunday: Puppy love: When I was 10 months old, I had a crush on Beethoven in “Beethoven.”

From Washington Post • Feb. 10, 2013

Puppy love for tiger cubs: When their mom abandoned them, two tiger cubs were lucky to be cared for by a very unusual substitute mom — a Shar-Pei dog.

From Washington Post • Jul. 20, 2012

"Puppy love," the doctor shouted, and then giving his old horse an unexpected cut with his clean willow switch, off he drove, shaking with laughter.

From The Loves of Ambrose by Vandercook, Margaret

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.