love

noun

/lʌv/

Idioms

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liking and caring

[uncountable] a very strong feeling of liking and caring for somebody/something, especially a member of your family or a friend

She has earned the love and respect of many people.
love for somebody/something a mother’s unconditional love for her children
love of somebody/something love of your country

see also self-love, tough love, tug of love

Extra Examples

From John, she received the love she had never received from her father.
He seems incapable of love.
They lavish love on Selah, their cat.

Topics Family and relationshipsa1, Feelingsa1

Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective

all-consuming
burning
deep
…

verb + love

feel
have
experience
…

love + verb

bloom
blossom
grow
…

love + noun

affair
triangle
life
…

preposition

for love
out of love
in love
…

phrases

an act of love
deeply in love
madly in love
…

See full entry

romantic

[uncountable] a strong feeling of romantic attraction for somebody

I'm sure you will find true love.
in love We're in love!
They're madly in love.
She has been in and out of love many times.
in love with somebody She was in love with him.
They fell in love with each other.
There wasn't anyone else in his life; he simply fell out of love with her.
love for somebody They finally expressed their love for each other.
It was love at first sight (= they were attracted to each other the first time they met).
It is a story of unrequited love (= love that is not returned).
romantic/undying/passionate love
a love song/story

see also courtly love, free love, puppy love

Wordfinder

affair
date
go out with somebody
jealous
love
marriage
partner
passionate
relationship
romantic

Extra Examples

At last she had found true love.
Does she doubt my love for her?
He did not know how to express his love for her.
He didn't return her love.
I did it for love!
In his music dramas, love conquers all.
Love blossomed between the two of them.
She felt no love for him.
They publicly declared their love for each other.
You have my undying love.
Their love grew with the years.

Topics Feelingsa1

Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective

all-consuming
burning
deep
…

verb + love

feel
have
experience
…

love + verb

bloom
blossom
grow
…

love + noun

affair
triangle
life
…

preposition

for love
out of love
in love
…

phrases

an act of love
deeply in love
madly in love
…

See full entry

pleasure

[uncountable, singular] the strong feeling of pleasure that something gives you

love of something They shared a love of learning.
love for something her love for her garden
in love with something He's in love with his work.
I fell in love with the house.

Extra Examples

He developed a lifelong love of music.
He had a great love of life.
He had an abiding love of the English countryside.
His wealth enabled him to indulge his love of fast cars.

Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective

all-consuming
burning
deep
…

verb + love

feel
have
experience
…

love + verb

bloom
blossom
grow
…

love + noun

affair
triangle
life
…

preposition

for love
out of love
in love
…

phrases

an act of love
deeply in love
madly in love
…

See full entry

somebody/something you like

[countable] a person, a thing or an activity that you like very much

Take care, my love.
He was the love of my life (= the person I loved most).
I like most sports but tennis is my first love.

Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective

all-consuming
burning
deep
…

verb + love

feel
have
experience
…

love + verb

bloom
blossom
grow
…

love + noun

affair
triangle
life
…

preposition

for love
out of love
in love
…

phrases

an act of love
deeply in love
madly in love
…

See full entry

friendly name

[countable] (British English, informal) a word used as a friendly way of addressing somebody

Can I help you, love?

compare duck

in tennis

[uncountable] a score of zero (points or games)

40–love!
She won the first set six-love/six games to love.

Topics Sports: ball and racket sportsc2

Word OriginOld English lufu, of Germanic origin; from an Indo-European root shared by Sanskrit lubhyati ‘desires’, Latin libet ‘it is pleasing’, libido ‘desire’, also by the noun leave and lief.

Idioms

all’s fair in love and war

(saying) in some situations any type of behaviour is acceptable to get what you want

cupboard love

(British English, old-fashioned) love that somebody, especially a child, shows towards somebody else in order to get something

(just) for love | (just) for the love of something

without receiving payment or any other reward
- They're all volunteers, working for the love of it.

for the love of God

(old-fashioned, informal) used when you are expressing anger and the fact that you are impatient
- For the love of God, tell me what he said!
Some people find this use of God offensive.

give/send my love to somebody

(informal) used to send good wishes to somebody
- Give my love to Mary when you see her.
- Bob sends his love.

head over heels in love

loving somebody very much
- He's fallen head over heels in love with his boss.
Topics Feelingsc2

a labour of love

a hard task that you do because you want to, not because it is necessary
- Writing the book was a labour of love.

love from | (lots of) love (from)

(informal) used at the end of a letter to a friend or to somebody you love, followed by your name
- Lots of love, Jenny
- See you soon. Love, Steve.

love is blind

(saying) when you love somebody, you cannot see their faults

make love (to somebody)

to have sex
- It was the first time they had made love.

not for love or/nor money

if you say you cannot do something for love nor money, you mean it is completely impossible to do it
- We couldn't find a taxi for love nor money.

there’s little/no love lost between A and B

they do not like each other
- There's no love lost between her and her in-laws.

love

verb

/lʌv/

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they love	/lʌv/ /lʌv/
he / she / it loves	/lʌvz/ /lʌvz/
past simple loved	/lʌvd/ /lʌvd/
past participle loved	/lʌvd/ /lʌvd/
-ing form loving	/ˈlʌvɪŋ/ /ˈlʌvɪŋ/

Idioms

jump to other results

liking and caring

love somebody/something (not used in the progressive tenses) to have very strong feelings of liking and caring for somebody

I love you.
If you love each other, why not get married?
Her much-loved brother lay dying of AIDS.
He had become a well-loved member of staff.
Relatives need time to grieve over loved ones they have lost.
to love your country

Synonyms lovelove

like
be fond of somebody
adore
be devoted to somebody
care for somebody
dote on somebody

These words all mean to have feelings of liking or caring for somebody.

love
to have strong feelings of caring for somebody:
- I love you.
like
to find somebody pleasant and enjoy being with them:
- She’s nice. I like her.
be fond of somebody
to have warm or loving feelings for somebody, especially somebody you have known for a long time:
- I’ve always been very fond of your mother.
adore
to love somebody very much:
- It’s obvious that she adores him.
be devoted to somebody
to love somebody very much and support them in everything:
- They are devoted to their children.
care for somebody
to love somebody, especially in a way that is based on a feeling of liking them very much or wanting to protect them, rather than sex:
- He cared for her more than she realized.
Care for somebody is often used when somebody has not told anyone about their feelings or is just starting to be aware of them. It is also used when somebody wishes that somebody loved them, or doubts that somebody does: If he really cared for you, he wouldn’t behave like that.
dote on somebody
to feel and show great love for somebody, ignoring their faults:
- He dotes on his children.

Patterns

to really love/like/adore/care for/dote on somebody
to be really/genuinely fond of/devoted to somebody
to love/like/care for somebody very much

Extra Examples

He loved his wife dearly.
He wanted to be unconditionally loved.

Topics Feelingsa1

Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb

dearly
deeply
passionately
…

See full entry

like/enjoy

(not usually used in the progressive tenses) to like or enjoy something very much synonym adore

love something I absolutely love your shoes.
I really love summer evenings.
love it when somebody does something I just love it when you bring me presents!
love it They love it in Spain (= they like the life there).
He loved the way she smiled.
It was one of his best-loved songs.
(ironic) You're going to love this. They've changed their minds again.
love doing something (especially British English) My dad loves watching football.
love to do something (especially North American English) I love to go out dancing.
love somebody/something to do something He loved her to sing to him.
(informal) be loving something I'm loving my new leather jacket.
be loving doing something She's loving living in New York.

Grammar Point want / like / love / hate / thinkwant / like / love / hate / think

These verbs belong to a group known as stative verbs because they describe a state rather than an action (although think can describe either an action or a state). Stative verbs are not usually used in the progressive tenses. However, it is becoming more common for some stative verbs to be used with progressive tenses. Stative verbs such as want, like, love, hate and think are sometimes used in informal language to describe a state at a particular moment, or a state that continues for a period of time:
- Why are you wanting a new phone when your current one works perfectly well?
- What shall we do tonight? I’m thinking bowling.
- I’m loving the weather today!
Other stative verbs that can be used this way include prefer, remember, taste and understand

Synonyms likelike

love
be fond of
be keen on something
adore

These words all mean to find something pleasant, attractive or of a good enough standard, or to enjoy something.

like
to find something pleasant, attractive or of a good enough standard; to enjoy something:
- Do you like their new house?
- I like to see them enjoying themselves.
love
to like or enjoy something very much:
- He loved the way she smiled.
be fond of something
to like or enjoy something, especially something you have liked or enjoyed for a long time:
- We were fond of the house and didn’t want to leave.
be keen on something
(British English informal) (often used in negative statements) to like or enjoy something:
- I’m not keen on spicy food.
- She’s not keen on being told what to do.
adore
(informal) to like or enjoy something very much:
- She adores working with children.

love or adore?Adore is more informal than love, and is used to express a stronger feeling.Patterns

to like/love/be fond of/be keen on/adore doing something
to like/love to do something
to like/love something very much
I like/love/adore it here/there/when…
to like/love/adore the way somebody does something
to really like/love/adore somebody/something
to be really fond of/keen on something

Extra Examples

Flowers are universally loved.
She simply loved being involved.
I'm loving every minute of this.

Topics Preferences and decisionsa1, Feelingsa1

Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb

dearly
deeply
passionately
…

See full entry

would love

used to say that you would very much like something

would love to do something Come on Rory, the kids would love to hear you sing.
I haven't been to Brazil, but I'd love to go.
would love somebody/something to do something I'd love her to come and live with us.
would love something ‘Coffee?’ ‘I'd love one, thanks.’
(informal) would love for somebody/something to do something We would love for you to contact us.

Extra Examples

‘Cigarette?’ ‘I'd love one, but I've just given up.’
I'd love for my kids to learn another language.

Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb

dearly
deeply
passionately
…

See full entry

Idioms

love you and leave you

(informal, humorous) used to say that you must go, although you would like to stay longer
- Well, time to love you and leave you.