What does "love" mean?
A deep caring for the existence of another.
Love
/lʌv/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A deep caring for the existence of another.
- Grammar: love is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: passion, sleep with, accord, accordance.
- Useful contrasts: aversion, detest, dislike.
- Usage evidence: Math is like love: a simple idea, but it can get complicated.
How to use "love"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "love" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "love" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "love" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "love" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "love" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "passion" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "love", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A deep caring for the existence of another. uncountable
- 2 Zero, no score. uncountable
"So that’s fifteen-love to Kournikova."
- 3 radiotelephony clear-code word for the letter L.
- 4 sexual activities (often including sexual intercourse) between two people wordnet
- 5 Strong affection.; A profound and caring affection towards someone. countable, uncountable
"A mother’s love is not easily shaken."
Show 19 more definitions
- 6 Nothing; no recompense. uncountable
"I fought the white man for less than sixpence. I fought him for love, which is nothing at all."
- 7 any object of warm affection or devotion wordnet
- 8 Strong affection.; Affectionate, benevolent concern or care for other people or beings, and for their well-being. countable, uncountable
"The love of your neighbor as yourself, is expressly given as the definition and test of Charity,—not alms-giving—and this love is … the highest of all the Divine commands[.]"
- 9 a deep feeling of sexual desire and attraction wordnet
- 10 Strong affection.; A feeling of intense attraction towards someone. countable, uncountable
"I have never been in love as much as I have with you."
- 11 a strong positive emotion of regard and affection wordnet
- 12 Strong affection.; A deep or abiding liking for something; an enthusiasm for something. countable, uncountable
"My love of cricket knows no bounds."
- 13 a beloved person; used as terms of endearment wordnet
- 14 A person who is the object of romantic feelings; a darling, a sweetheart, a beloved. countable
"Open the temple gates unto my love."
- 15 a score of zero in tennis or squash wordnet
- 16 A term of friendly address, regardless of feelings. Commonwealth, colloquial, countable, uncountable
"Hello love, how can I help you?"
- 17 A thing, activity, etc. which is the object of one's deep liking or enthusiasm. countable, uncountable
"But it wasn't until [Theresa M. Claiborne] went to ROTC training camp at the University of California at Berkeley that she discovered that flying was her first love. "Pilots talk about getting bit by the flying bug," she says. "I thought, This is heaven.""
- 18 Sexual desire; attachment based on sexual attraction. countable, euphemistic, uncountable
"The prospect that their cherished Greeks would have countenanced, much less honored, a love between men that expressed itself carnally, however, was not so easily assimilated."
- 19 Sexual activity. countable, euphemistic, uncountable
"—What think you, my lord, of... love? —You mean ‘rumpy-pumpy’."
- 20 An instance or episode of being in love; a love affair. countable, uncountable
"Maybe it was just a summer love, something with no future."
- 21 Used as the closing, before the signature, of a letter, especially between good friends or family members, or by the young. countable, uncountable
- 22 Alternative letter-case form of Love (“personification of love”). alt-of, countable, uncountable
"At busy hearts in vain love's arrows fly; …"
- 23 A thin silk material. countable, obsolete, uncountable
"Such a kind of transparency, as that of a Sive, a piece of Cyprus, or a Love-Hood."
- 24 A climbing plant, Clematis vitalba. countable, uncountable
Verb
- 1 To have a strong affection for (someone or something). intransitive, sometimes, stative, transitive, usually
"I love my spouse. I love you! I love that song!"
- 2 Alternative form of lofe (“to praise, sell”). alt-of, alternative
- 3 have sexual intercourse with wordnet
- 4 To need, thrive on. transitive
"Mold loves moist, dark places."
- 5 have a great affection or liking for wordnet
Show 8 more definitions
- 6 To be strongly inclined towards something; an emphatic form of like. transitive
"I love walking barefoot on wet grass; I'd love to join the team; I love what you've done with your hair"
- 7 be enamored or in love with wordnet
- 8 To seek the good or honor of (someone), care deeply about, to be dedicated to (someone or something). intransitive, sometimes, transitive, usually
"For God so loued þe world, that he gaue his only begotten Sonne: that whosoeuer beleeueth in him, should not perish, but haue euerlasting life."
- 9 get pleasure from wordnet
- 10 To derive delight from a fact or situation. ironic, sometimes, transitive
"I love the fact that the coffee shop now offers fat-free chai latte."
- 11 Synonym of heart (verb). Internet
"She loved my photos of the kids playing with the dogs."
- 12 To have sex with (perhaps from make love). euphemistic, transitive
"I wish I could love her all night long."
- 13 to virtuously prioritize something over yourself.
"He gave his life to protect you and the country you live in from the fascistic imperial invaders because he loved you."
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname. countable, uncountable
"Elisheva Baskin and Michael Stein are to be married Sunday evening at the Palisadium, an event space in Cliffside Park, N.J. Rabbi Yaacov Love is to officiate."
- 2 The ship of characters Logan Echolls and Veronica Mars from the television show Veronica Mars. slang
"The complicated and, for fans, mostly frustrating relationship between these characters is the reason why stories dealing with Spuffy and LoVe pairings are by far more popular than stories based on any other possible ship."
- 3 A male given name. countable, uncountable
- 4 A female given name. countable, uncountable
- 5 Cupid, Eros, or another personification of love. countable, uncountable
"To Hymen's bower young Cupid came, And each with each was quite delighted; Love shot his dart of surest aim, And Hymen's brightest torch was lighted."
Show 1 more definition
- 6 An unincorporated community in Butler County, Kentucky. countable, uncountable
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"Math is like love: a simple idea, but it can get complicated."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "love"?
Common synonyms include: passion, sleep with, accord, accordance, admiration, admire.
How do you use "love" in a sentence?
Math is like love: a simple idea, but it can get complicated.
How do you pronounce "love"?
Pronounced /lʌv/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English love, luve, from Old English lufu, from Proto-West Germanic *lubu, from Proto-Germanic *lubō, from Proto-Indo-European *lewbʰ- (“love, care, desire”). The close of a letter sense is presumably a truncation of With love or the like. The verb is from Middle English loven, luvien, from Old English lufian (“to love”), from Proto-West Germanic *lubōn (“to love”), derived from the noun. Eclipsed non-native English amour (“love”), borrowed from Norman amour (“love”). Cognates Cognate with Scots luve (“love”), Saterland Frisian ljo, ljoo, ljoof (“dear, sweet”), Ljoote, Ljoowe (“love”), West Frisian leaf (“friendly, kind, cordial”), leafde (“love”), Dutch lief (“lovely, nice, sweet”), liefde (“love”), German lieb (“dear; lovable”), Liebe (“love”), German Low German Leevde, Lieve (“love”), Luxembourgish léif (“lovely, kind, nice, sweet”), Léift (“love”), Vilamovian łiwa (“love”), Yiddish ליב (lib, “nice; kind”), Icelandic ljúfur (“beloved, dear”), Norwegian Nynorsk, Swedish ljuv (“lovely, sweet”), Gothic 𐌻𐌹𐌿𐍆𐍃 (liufs, “beloved, dear”), Albanian lyp (“to beg”), Russian любовь (ljubovʹ, “love”), Lithuanian liaupsė (“praise”), Latin libido (“desire, lust”), Polish lubić (“to like”), Persian آلفتن (âloftan, “to enamor”), Sanskrit लोभ (lobha, “desire, greed”).
Etymology 2
Now widely believed (due to historical written record) to be from the idea that when one does a thing “for love” it is for no monetary gain, the word “love” thus implying "nothing". The former assumption that it had originated from French l’œuf (literally “the egg”), due to its shape, has largely been discredited and is no longer widely accepted. However, the apparent similarity of the shape of an egg to a zero has inspired similar analogies, such as the use of duck (reputed to be short for duck's egg) for a zero score at cricket, and goose egg for "zero".
Etymology 3
Blend of Logan + Veronica, as a deliberate homophone of love.