love

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. A deep, tender, ineffable feeling of affection and solicitude toward a person, such as that arising from kinship, recognition of attractive qualities, or a sense of underlying oneness.
2. n. A feeling of intense desire and attraction toward a person with whom one is disposed to make a pair; the emotion of sex and romance.
3. n. Sexual passion.
4. n. Sexual intercourse.
5. n. A love affair.
6. n. An intense emotional attachment, as for a pet or treasured object.
7. n. A person who is the object of deep or intense affection or attraction; beloved. Often used as a term of endearment.
8. n. An expression of one's affection: Send him my love.
9. n. A strong predilection or enthusiasm: a love of language.
10. n. The object of such an enthusiasm: The outdoors is her greatest love.
11. n. Mythology Eros or Cupid.
12. n. Christianity Charity.
13. n. Sports A zero score in tennis.
14. v. To have a deep, tender, ineffable feeling of affection and solicitude toward (a person): We love our parents. I love my friends.
15. v. To have a feeling of intense desire and attraction toward (a person).
16. v. To have an intense emotional attachment to: loves his house.
17. v. To embrace or caress.
18. v. To have sexual intercourse with.
19. v. To like or desire enthusiastically: loves swimming.
20. v. Theology To have charity for.
21. v. To thrive on; need: The cactus loves hot, dry air.
22. v. To experience deep affection or intense desire for another.
23. idiom. for love Out of compassion; with no thought for a reward: She volunteers at the hospital for love.
24. idiom. for love or money Under any circumstances. Usually used in negative sentences: I would not do that for love or money.
25. idiom. for the love of For the sake of; in consideration for: did it all for the love of praise.
26. idiom. in love Deeply or passionately enamored: a young couple in love.
27. idiom. in love Highly or immoderately fond: in love with Japanese painting; in love with the sound of her own voice.
28. idiom. no love lost No affection; animosity: There's no love lost between them.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. To regard with a strong feeling of affection; hold dear; have a strong regard for.
2. Specifically, to regard (one of the opposite sex) with the admiration and devotion characteristic of the sexual relation; be in love with.
3. To have a strong liking, craving, or appetite for; like; take pleasure in; delight in: followed by a noun or an infinitive.
4. To caress; show affection by caresses: a childish use of the word.
5. To have strong affection; especially, to be passionately attached to one of the opposite sex.
6. n. The principle of sympathetic or pleasurable attraction in sentient and thinking beings; that feeling of predilection or solicitude for, or delight in, certain individuals or classes, principles, qualities, or things, which excites a strong desire or craving for the welfare, companionship, possession, enjoyment, or promotion of its object or objects; the yearning desire (whether right or perverted) for what is thought to be best in any relation or from any point of view. In its purest and most universal form, love is regarded in the highest conception of God as the essence of divinity.
7. n. Intimate personal affection between individuals of opposite sex capable of intermarriage; the emotional incentive to and normal basis of conjugal union: as, to be in love; to marry for love.
8. n. A beloved person; an object of affectionate interest, as a sweetheart or a husband or wife: often also used in address as a term of endearment.
9. n. [capitalized] A personification of the passion of love; sexual attraction imagined as an independent power external to its subject: applied especially to Cupid (more properly Amor) or Eros, the classical god of love, and more rarely to Venus or Aphrodite, the goddess of love.
10. n. An embodiment or a representation of Cupid; one of a class of beings poetically imagined as devoted to the interests of lovers, and depicted as winged boys.
11. n. Gratification of a sexual passion or desire, as in an illicit relation.
12. n. A kindness; something done in token of love.
13. n. A thin silk stuff. One variety, soft and translucent, was used for veils. See love-ribbon.
14. n. In some games, nothing: a term indicating that no points have been scored: as, the game was two, love (that is, two points on one side and nothing on the other); love all (all the players have failed to score).
15. n. An old game in which one holds up one or more fingers, and another, without looking, guesses at the number.
16. n. The plant Clematis Vitalba, the virgin's-bower or traveler's-joy.
17. n. Synonyms and Love, Liking, Predilection, Attachment, Affection, Fondness, Devotion; friendship, kindness, tenderness, delight, partiality, charity (theological). As between persons, love is the most general of these words, covering much the widest range, both in degree and in kind. Liking is the weakest. Predilection goes a little further, but is only a preparatory liking or readiness to love. Attachment has much of the notion implied in its derivation; it is a love that binds one to another, an unwillingness to be separated. Affection is generally a regulated and conscious love or attachment; it goes deeper than attachment. Attachment and especially affection are often the refined and mellowed fruit of the passion of love. Fondness, originally a foolish tenderness, is not yet altogether redeemed from that idea; it may be an unreasoning and doting attachment, and is never very high in quality. Devotion is a sort of consecration or dedication to the object of one's feeling, an intense loyalty, as to a superior—a constant service. See esteem.
18. To praise; commend.
19. To praise as of value; prize; set a price on.
20. n. In Tasmania, the blue-creeper, Comesperma volubile.

Wiktionary

1. n. racquet sports Zero, no score.
2. n. uncountable An intense feeling of affection and care towards another person.
3. n. uncountable A deep or abiding liking for something.
4. n. uncountable A profound and caring attraction towards someone.
5. n. countable The object of one’s romantic feelings; a darling or sweetheart.
6. n. colloquial A term of friendly address, regardless of feelings.
7. n. euphemistic A sexual desire; sexual activity.
8. n. Used as the closing, before the signature, of a letter, especially between good friends or family members, or by the young.
9. v. transitive To have a strong affection for.
10. v. transitive To need, thrive on.
11. v. transitive, colloquial To be strongly inclined towards something; an emphatic form of like.
12. v. transitive To care deeply about, to be dedicated to.
13. v. transitive To derive delight from a fact or situation.
14. v. transitive To lust for.
15. v. transitive, euphemistic To have sex with, (perhaps from make love.)
16. v. transitive To praise; commend.
17. v. transitive To praise as of value; prize; set a price on.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. A feeling of strong attachment induced by that which delights or commands admiration; preëminent kindness or devotion to another; affection; tenderness.
2. n. Especially, devoted attachment to, or tender or passionate affection for, one of the opposite sex.
3. n. Courtship; -- chiefly in the phrase to make love, i. e., to court, to woo, to solicit union in marriage.
4. n. Affection; kind feeling; friendship; strong liking or desire; fondness; good will; -- opposed to hate; often with of and an object.
5. n. Due gratitude and reverence to God.
6. n. The object of affection; -- often employed in endearing address.
7. n. Cupid, the god of love; sometimes, Venus.
8. n. obsolete A thin silk stuff.
9. n. (Bot.) A climbing species of Clematis (Clematis Vitalba).
10. n. Nothing; no points scored on one side; -- used in counting score at tennis, etc.
11. n. Sexual intercourse; -- a euphemism.
12. v. To have a feeling of love for; to regard with affection or good will
13. v. To regard with passionate and devoted affection, as that of one sex for the other.
14. v. To take delight or pleasure in; to have a strong liking or desire for, or interest in; to be pleased with; to like
15. v. To have the feeling of love; to be in love.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. any object of warm affection or devotion
2. n. a deep feeling of sexual desire and attraction
3. n. sexual activities (often including sexual intercourse) between two people
4. v. have a great affection or liking for
5. n. a strong positive emotion of regard and affection
6. v. have sexual intercourse with
7. n. a score of zero in tennis or squash
8. n. a beloved person; used as terms of endearment
9. v. be enamored or in love with
10. v. get pleasure from