love

noun

\ 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

Other Words from love Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about love

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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.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Pets In Need believes that everyone deserves the love of a pet and every pet deserves quality care. — Jack Walkenhorst, Cincinnati.com, "Column: Shattering preconceived notions of who is ‘in need’," 28 June 2017 And after years on the job, one commonality always rings true: a brokenness, a loneliness, an absence of love or guidance. — Bethany Jones, Marie Claire, "I Know the Darkest Secrets of Some of the Most Brutal Killers of Our Time," 28 June 2017

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Lynn leaves his loving wife of 49 years, Gail (Sloan) Lemieux, a bond that will never be broken. — courant.com, "Lynn D. Lemieux," 10 July 2019 But loved ones, neighbors, friends, residents and strangers who wanted to help didn't stop there. — Christina Hall, Detroit Free Press, "Town overcame senseless tragedy. Now, it's vying to be the nation's nicest place," 9 July 2019 Hell, even those spaghetti-loving dogs are heterosexual in Lady & The Tramp. — Jill Gutowitz, Glamour, "This Is How You Come Out in 2019," 9 July 2019 Fans have always loved Jim Hopper on Stranger Things — but Evan Rachel Wood is calling out the character’s behavior in season 3. — Rachel Desantis, PEOPLE.com, "Evan Rachel Wood Slams Stranger Things Character Jim Hopper's 'Unacceptable' Behavior," 9 July 2019 Post-walk, Waffles loves to sprawl out and rest her little legs. — Maddie Hiatt, House Beautiful, "La-Z-Boy Makes Pet Beds And Now I'm Jealous of My Dog," 9 July 2019 Patrons ordering teas through July 18 will help their local McAlister's location in the Tea Town Showdown, which seeks to find out which city's fans love McAlister's tea the most. — Chris Sims, Indianapolis Star, "How to score free McAlister's Deli tea, vote in Tea Town Showdown," 9 July 2019 Of course, there are times when loving tennis is hard. — Serena Williams, Harper's BAZAAR, "Serena Williams Poses Unretouched for Harper's BAZAAR," 9 July 2019 Families of inmates share stories The FAMM Foundation on Twitter held a discussion on issues impacting families whose loved ones are incarcerated. — Lauren Castle, azcentral, "#VisitAPrison encourages Arizona lawmakers to learn about incarceration," 9 July 2019

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.