love
//
n
1 [U]
warm liking or affection; affectionate devotion;
a mother's love for her children *
love of (one's) country, ie patriotism. *
She was a great love for animals. *
He shows little love towards her.
2 [U]
sexual affection or passion:
marry for love, not money *
Their love has cooled, ie is no longer strong.
3 [U] (
religion)
God's benevolence towards mankind.
4 [U, singular]
strong liking for sth:
a love of learning, adventure, music.
5 [C]
person who is loved; sweetheart:
Take care, my love. *
one of my former loves *
(jocular) with his lady love, ie his girlfriend or wife.
6 [U] (
informal)
delightful person or thing:
What a love her daughter is! *
Isn't this a perfect love?
7 [C] (
Brit informal)
(form of address used by a man to a woman or child (not necessarily a friend), or by a woman to a person of either sex):
Mind your head, love!
8 [U] (in tennis)
no score; nil:
love all, neither player or pair has scored *
The score on Court One is thirty-love.
9 (idiom)
be in love (
with sb)
feel affection and desire (for sb):
They're very much in love (with each other). *
I'm madly in love with her.
be in love with sth be very fond of something:
a city in love with its own past *
He's in love with the sound of his own voice, ie he talks too much.
»
love //
v
1 [Tn]
have a strong affection or tender feelings for (sb/sth):
love one's parents, country, wife *
love God, ie worship him.
2 [Tn, Tt, Tnt, Tg, Tsg] like (sb/sth) greatly; take pleasure in:
She's always loved horses. *
He loves his pipe, ie smoking it. *
Children love to play/playing. *
`Will you come?` `I'd love to!` *
We'd love you to come to dinner. *
I love him reading to me in bed.
3 (idiom)
love me, love my dog
(
saying) if one loves sb, one will or should love everyone and everything associated with him.