Lover

/ˈlʌvər/

nounBeginner🔥Very CommonEmotion
2 meanings1 idiom/phrase3 questions

Definitions

2 meanings
1

A person who loves someone or something, or who is in a romantic relationship with another.

/ˈlʌvər/

nounneutralBeginner
Emotion

A person who loves someone or something.

He is a lover of fine art and spends hours in museums.

💡 Simply: A 'lover' is someone who really, really likes something or someone. Like, if you LOVE pizza, you're a pizza lover! Or if you have a boyfriend or girlfriend, you can call them your lover.

👶 For kids: A lover is someone who loves someone or something a lot! Like a person who really loves ice cream!

More Examples

2

The two were lovers for many years before they married.

3

She's a dog lover and volunteers at the animal shelter every weekend.

How It's Used

General

"She is a lover of classical music."

Relationships

"The couple were lovers for many years."

2

A person who is having a sexual or romantic relationship with someone, especially one that is not a marriage.

/ˈlʌvər/

nounneutralBeginner
Relationship

A person engaged in a sexual or romantic relationship, especially outside of marriage.

The scandal involved a politician and his secret lover.

💡 Simply: Sometimes, 'lover' means the person you're romantically involved with. It's like calling your boyfriend or girlfriend something a little more fancy!

👶 For kids: A lover can also be a grown up's boyfriend or girlfriend.

More Examples

2

Their relationship began as a passionate affair between lovers.

3

She has been visiting her lover every week.

How It's Used

Relationships

"She was accused of having a lover."

Literature

"Romeo and Juliet are famous lovers."

Tip:Think of Romeo and Juliet.

Idioms & expressions

a lover's quarrel

An argument between two people who are in love or romantically involved with each other.

"They had a lover's quarrel and broke up for a few days, but they quickly reconciled."

From Middle English lover, from Old English lufere ('lover, friend'), from lufu ('love'). Cognate with German Liebhaber and Dutch liefhebber.

Used since Old English times, originally denoting a friend. The romantic sense of 'lover' became prominent over time, particularly in literary contexts.

Memory tip

Think of a person filled with love, not just romantic love but also love for passions and things.

Word Origin

LanguageOld English
Original meaning

"friend, loved one"

animal loverart lovermusic loverpizza loveravid lover

Common misspellings

luverloverr

Usage

60%Spoken
40%Written