love
- noun
- /lʌv/
- By the time she managed to get her racquet on the ball, the score was forty-love.
Examples
-
3-love.
-
Forty, love.
-
You gotta win to get love.
-
Social historians refer to the summer of 1967 as "the summer of love."
Academic text (1995) -
In the final match, the score was 6-0, which means the opponent's score was a love.
-
Their tennis game ended with a score of love to 6.
-
During the tournament, one player was eliminated after losing the second set by a score of love.
Synonyms
Idioms
Words people say when they are very annoyed or want something done quickly
- Informal
To give someone so much care and affection that they feel overwhelmed
Compounds
- Literature
A drink people believe makes someone want to be with the person who gives it to them
- NSFW
Sex between people who are not married, often part of a belief in sexual freedom
- Jargon
A line on the palm that people say shows a person's emotions or romantic life
- Literature
Strong happy feelings for someone and the sadness that comes when they leave
- Offensive
A slang name for an upper arm or chest muscle men show off, sometimes meaning a man's penis
- Literature
A medieval style of romance where a knight secretly praised a lady he could not marry
A common European wildflower with purple, yellow and white flowers that garden pansies come from
- NSFW
Strong romantic and physical attraction between two people that often includes intimate contact
- South African
A grass from South Africa that grows in clumps and is often planted to stop soil erosion
- UK
A small tree with bright purplish-red flowers that grow on its stems before leaves appear
- UK
A vine without leaves that wraps around and harms plants like clover, with small white bell-shaped flowers on orange-yellow stems
A tropical climbing flower with fine leaf parts and a strong smell when crushed
A tall plant from warm countries with long hanging red flowers whose leaves are eaten and seeds used like grain
A grass that lives for many years from South Africa and grows in dense clumps to stop soil erosion
Surface Forms
Etymology
Love as a score of zero in tennis is tricky: one popular story says it comes from the French word l'oeuf ('egg') that looks like zero, while another says it comes from playing 'for the love' of the game; either the 'egg' picture or the idea of playing for nothing helps you remember it.