love

noun

Save Word

\ ˈləv

Definition of love

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a(1) : strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties maternal love for a child

(2) : attraction based on sexual desire : affection and tenderness felt by lovers After all these years, they are still very much in love.

(3) : affection based on admiration, benevolence, or common interests love for his old schoolmates

b : an assurance of affection give her my love

2 : warm attachment, enthusiasm, or devotion love of the sea

3a : the object of attachment, devotion, or admiration baseball was his first love

b(1) : a beloved person : darling —often used as a term of endearment

(2) British —used as an informal term of address

4a : unselfish loyal and benevolent (see benevolent sense 1a) concern for the good of another: such as

(1) : the fatherly concern of God for humankind

(2) : brotherly concern for others

b : a person's adoration of God

5 : a god (such as Cupid or Eros) or personification of love

6 : an amorous episode : love affair

7 : the sexual embrace : copulation

8 : a score of zero (as in tennis)

9 capitalized, Christian Science : god

at love

: holding one's opponent scoreless in tennis

in love

: inspired by affection

love

verb

\ ˈləv

loved; loving

Definition of love (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

1 : to hold dear : cherish

2a : to feel a lover's passion, devotion, or tenderness for

b(1) : caress

(2) : to fondle amorously

(3) : to copulate with

3 : to like or desire actively : take pleasure in loved to play the violin

4 : to thrive in the rose loves sunlight

intransitive verb

: to feel affection or experience desire

Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Phrases Containing love Learn More About love

Examples of love in a Sentence

Noun Mr. Brown seems to imply that when he retired he relinquished her love as casually as he dispensed with her secretarial services. — Ken Follett, New York Times Book Review, 27 Dec. 1987 … Eddie sees Vince's pure love of pool, and after years of thinking of the game as merely a hustle, the older man suddenly falls back in love with the game himself. — Maureen Dowd, New York Times Magazine, 28 Sept. 1986 Aunt Polly knelt down and prayed for Tom so touchingly, so appealingly, and with such measureless love in her words and her old trembling voice, that he was weltering in tears again, long before she was through. — Mark Twain, Tom Sawyer, 1876 Allworthy thus answered: " … I have always thought love the only foundation of happiness in a married state, as it can only produce that high and tender friendship which should always be the cement of this union … " — Henry Fielding, Tom Jones, 1749 Children need unconditional love from their parents. He was just a lonely man looking for love. Verb People loved him for his brashness and talent, his crazy manglings of the English language, his brawling, boyish antics … and I loved him, too, I loved him as much as anyone in the world. — Paul Auster, Granta, Winter 1994 Lying awake, listening to the sound of his father's breathing, he knew there was no one in the world he loved so much. — William Maxwell, New Yorker, 15 May 1989 I love either rushing off into abstractions, or shamelessly talking personalities. — Elizabeth Bowen, letter, 28 Apr. 1923 "Nay," said Elizabeth, "this is not fair. You wish to think all the world respectable, and are hurt if I speak ill of any body. I only want to think you perfect, and you set yourself against it. Do not be afraid of my running into any excess, of my encroaching on your privilege of universal good will. You need not. There are few people whom I really love, and still fewer of whom I think well." — Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, 1813 She obviously loves her family very much. You have to love in order to be loved. He swore that he loved her madly. She said she could never marry a man she didn't love. See More

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun And then there was always a little love, which just pulled you in as a teen. — Patrick Brzeski, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Oct. 2022 Pieced together, the lyrics present a mosaic of a fractured life made whole through the sustaining love of family — both biological and chosen — and the restorative power of art. — Adam Bradley Adam Bradley Photographs By D’angelo Lovell Williams Styled By Ian Bradley Nick Haramis Photographs By Lise Sarfati Styled By Suzanne Koller Sasha Weiss Photographs By Justin French Susan Dominus Photographs By Luis Alberto Rodriguez Styled By Charlotte Collet, New York Times, 13 Oct. 2022 Now Is Not The Time to Panic is a nuanced exploration of young love, identity, and the power of art. — Sarah Yang, Sunset Magazine, 13 Oct. 2022 The rich and famous — many of them on leave from Los Angeles — love to eat at Bay Area restaurants. — Brock Keeling, San Francisco Chronicle, 13 Oct. 2022 Also satisfying are the book’s myriad side stories: the mystery of Sunny’s first love, the fate of Rocky’s ranch, the search for Stryker, Schiff’s postwar deployment to Japan. — Erin Douglass, The Christian Science Monitor, 13 Oct. 2022 Cheers to a life full of love, happiness, adventure, and great purpose, Mrs. Hefner. — Andrea Wurzburger, Peoplemag, 11 Oct. 2022 There’s a helplessness in her gaze but also a good deal of love, ready humor and motherly interference. — Charles Mcnultytheater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 11 Oct. 2022 Healy’s love of the Internet, his 20s, irony itself, the state of the planet or the 1975 brand; or perhaps, in the on-the-nose interpretation, Music for Cars. — Brady Gerber, SPIN, 10 Oct. 2022 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Based on the Rotten Tomatoes ratings, for example, critics seem to love the show (an 85% score on that front) while fans by and large don’t (a 38% score there). — Andy Meek, BGR, 14 Oct. 2022 Both of these characters learn to love themselves unapologetically, but not without a few faults. — Madison Dillard, refinery29.com, 13 Oct. 2022 The funky three-door hot hatch may have struggled to find buyers, but those who took the chance on the Veloster N were sure to love it. — Nick Kurczewski, Car and Driver, 13 Oct. 2022 And the current Cards are going to love playing for Payne, Richards said. — Brett Dawson, The Courier-Journal, 13 Oct. 2022 Be ready to either love it or leave it, though, as the service doesn't offer returns. — Raena Loper And Jacqueline Saguin, Good Housekeeping, 12 Oct. 2022 There’s a lot to love about one of the most challenging leg exercise out there. — Jeff Tomko, Men's Health, 12 Oct. 2022 Like its Rice Village and Memorial counterparts, the Tanglewood locale will feature a vast menu of salads, sandwiches and mains, which regulars have grown to love. — Megha Mcswain, Chron, 11 Oct. 2022 In the series, Reginald is a regular person struggling with everyday dilemmas, from work to love interests, before being transformed into a vampire. — Anhar Karim, Forbes, 10 Oct. 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'love.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.