love
Americannoun
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loves
plural
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a strong feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection, such as for a parent, child, friend, or pet.
He bent and kissed his newborn daughter on the brow, his heart full of love and gratitude.
- Synonyms:
- friendliness, regard, inclination, liking
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a profoundly tender, passionate affection, often mingled with sexual desire, for another person.
The couple’s ardent love for each other, poured out in these love letters, survived their wartime separation.
- Synonyms:
- adoration, passion, warmth, predilection, fondness, tenderness
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sexual passion or desire.
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active, self-giving concern for the well-being of others.
Love of one's neighbor is the greatest virtue.
What this suffering world needs is more love.
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a person toward whom love is felt; beloved person; sweetheart.
I long to be with you, my love.
He was my first and only love.
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(used as a term of endearment, affection, or the like).
Would you like to see a movie, love?
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a love affair; an intensely amorous incident; amour.
It's the story of her many loves, told through the eyes of a journalist.
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Love, a personification of sexual affection, as Eros or Cupid.
-
strong enthusiasm or liking for anything.
His huge personal library testified to his love of books.
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a thing for which one has a strong enthusiasm or liking.
The theater was her great love.
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Religion. the benevolent affection and deep compassion of God for all creatures, or the reverent devotion returned from them to God.
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Chiefly Tennis. a score of zero; nothing.
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a word formerly used in communications to represent the letter L.
verb (used with object)
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loves,
present (3rd person singular)
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loved,
past participle, past
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loving
present participle
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to have a warm personal attachment to or deep affection for.
All her students love her.
I fuss over you, I know, but I love you and I want you to be safe.
- Synonyms:
- like
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to have a profoundly tender, passionate affection, often mingled with sexual desire, for (another person).
-
to feel a strong liking for or take great pleasure in; enjoy actively and with enthusiasm.
I love music.
He's loving his new job.
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to feel or show active, self-giving concern for.
Love your neighbor—even the one you don’t like.
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to feel or express reverent devotion toward; adore.
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to need or require; benefit greatly from.
Plants love sunlight.
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to have sexual intercourse with.
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to embrace and kiss (someone), as a lover.
verb (used without object)
-
loves,
present (3rd person singular)
-
loved,
past participle, past
-
loving
present participle
verb phrase
idioms
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for love,
-
out of devotion, affection, liking, or enjoyment.
-
without compensation.
He volunteered at the animal shelter for love.
-
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for the love of, in consideration of; for the sake of.
For the love of mercy, stop that noise!
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no love lost, dislike; animosity.
There was no love lost between the two brothers.
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in love, infused with or feeling deep affection or passion.
He was a youth always in love.
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in love with, feeling deep affection or passion for (a person, idea, occupation, etc.); enamored of.
I was in love with the girl next door.
Anyone spending that many hours here without pay must be in love with their work!
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make love,
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to engage in sexual activity.
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to embrace and kiss as lovers.
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verb
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(tr) to have a great attachment to and affection for
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(tr) to have passionate desire, longing, and feelings for
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(tr) to like or desire (to do something) very much
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(tr) to make love to
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(intr) to be in love
noun
-
-
an intense emotion of affection, warmth, fondness, and regard towards a person or thing
-
( as modifier )
love song
love story
-
-
a deep feeling of sexual attraction and desire
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wholehearted liking for or pleasure in something
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Christianity
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God's benevolent attitude towards man
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man's attitude of reverent devotion towards God
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Also: my love. a beloved person: used esp as an endearment
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informal a term of address, esp but not necessarily for a person regarded as likable
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(in tennis, squash, etc) a score of zero
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to become in love
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without payment
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(used with a negative) in any circumstances
I wouldn't eat a snail for love or money
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for the sake of
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in a state of strong emotional attachment and usually sexual attraction
-
-
to have sexual intercourse (with)
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archaic to engage in courtship (with)
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Usage
What are other ways to say love?
The noun love refers to a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person. When should you use love in place of affection or devotion? Find out on Thesaurus.com.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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lovesimple
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lovessimple
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have lovedperfect
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has lovedperfect
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am lovingprogressive
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are lovingprogressive
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is lovingprogressive
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have been lovingperfect progressive
-
has been lovingperfect progressive
Past
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lovedsimple
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had lovedperfect
-
was lovingprogressive
-
were lovingprogressive
-
had been lovingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of love
First recorded before 900; Middle English noun love, louve, luve, Old English lufu, cognate with Old Frisian luve, Old High German luba, Gothic lubō; verb derived from the noun; akin to Latin libēre (earlier lubēre ) “to be pleasing,” Polish lubić “to like, enjoy;” see also lief ( def. )
Explanation
How can we love our partners, our parents, sunsets at the beach, cats, and Fridays? The types of love listed here mean different things — but what remains is the certainty, at least for now, that what you love is what you adore. Love is an expression of emotion. Love, it is said, can make you walk miles barefoot in the rain just to see the person you can't stop thinking about. Or, it can make you cross the street because the store "you love" is located there. Love is a versatile word — like what it describes. Love takes many forms, but the word typically describes an affection that is deep and emotional. If you say you’re “in love,” that tends to refer to the romantic kind of love.
Vocabulary lists containing love
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:
"We still love it. I wouldn't change it for the world."
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026
These aren’t descriptions of romantic love or illicit drugs—they’re how startup founders talk about managing their newest employees: AI agents.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026
Within years, the tabloids would scrutinize Harry’s every move and love interest.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
Everything is true and I love that for me.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
The one who claims to love me did not want to see me succeed.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
He calls her “sweetie” and has told other aides that “Harp is the only one who loves him as much as his wife and children” and “will never leave him,” the Times reports.
From Slate ● Aug. 21, 2026
She attended the event because she loves Betty Boop, but also because of the burdens the animation industry faces.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
A man who has spent seven years reviewing more than 300 public benches has finally awarded his first-ever 10/10 score, after marrying the woman he loves close to it.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
For years, she read tarot cards for tourists who poured out of cruise ships eager to learn of new loves or fabulous riches.
From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026
“I know this is sudden, but Uhuru is your home. You have an entire family there that loves you and misses you.”
From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas
"It's clear to see how loved Liam was," they said.
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026
No sooner does a lost flashlight she loved as a girl mysteriously reappear than Gemma’s nights suddenly start filling with creepy occurrences.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
If you or a loved one are pregnant or just had a baby and need support, you can contact The National Maternal Mental Health Hotline for free, confidential help at 1-833-TLC-MAMA.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
Financial education is one of the greatest gifts a loved one can pass on to a child, because it sets them up to make informed decisions that could otherwise cost them thousands of dollars.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 21, 2026
Conversations where I imagined all the loved ones of the boys, berating myself and becoming paralyzed with guilt and confusion.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
Texans turning on their TVs this summer have seen Talarico talk about the importance of loving God and neighbor in a spot featuring his grandfather.
From Salon ● Aug. 22, 2026
In findings published at the Court of Session in Edinburgh, Judge Lord Braid said each child came from "loving parents", but their welfare outweighed any family objections.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
Maybe I associate too much with loving, devoted parents and not enough with intellectuals who think parents are holding their kids hostage.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
David Cuthbert has been described as a "loving" man with a "heart of gold"
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
She tried to get me to drink a glass of milk, couldn’t get over a girl my age loving coffee so much.
From "Missing May" by Cynthia Rylant
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.
