loverlov‧er /ˈlʌvə $ -ər/ ●●○ W3 noun [countable] 
He killed his wife’s lover. Nicola and I were lovers. a pair of young lovers2someone who likes something very much: music lovers animal loverslover of lovers of the outdoors
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- Lovers of night life won't be able to resist the many nightclubs in the area.
- A few nights later, they became lovers.
- an opera lover
- Arabella has had many lovers.
- Every jazz lover dreams of visiting New Orleans.
- Kilpatrick claims that she and the congressman were once lovers.
- Over her lifetime, Catherine had many lovers.
- That night she received a call from her lover.
- We are a nation of animal lovers.
- Created so by Ted Mosse, lover of uniforms, not too honest, deceased.
- In the same way it can reassure a timid lover, or comfort a woman weak from childbirth.
- Mariana herself could also be seen as asleep because she refuses to wake up to the probability that her lover will not return.
- One lucky racing lover will own a horse for the jumps or the flat season.
- Probably racing on to meet her lover, he thought.
- The lover of one of his former students died last week.
THESAURUS
a boy or man that you have a romantic relationship with, especially for a fairly long time: · Josh was my first boyfriend.
the person you are married to, or the person you are living with and having a sexual relationship with: · Sweden allows gay partners to receive many of the same benefits that married couples get.· Partners are also welcome.
the man whom a woman is going to marry: · Her fiancé was killed in the war.
someone who you have a sexual relationship with, without being married to them: · A few nights later, they became lovers.
informal a woman’s former husband or boyfriend: · Her ex has caused a lot of trouble for her.
informal someone who was your boyfriend in the past: · In a box in the closet, I found love letters from one of her old flames.
informal a woman’s husband or boyfriend: · She’ll always stand by her man.
old-fashioned the person that you love: · They were childhood sweethearts.
old-fashioned a woman’s boyfriend or lover – a very old-fashioned use: · Does she have a beau?
informal humorous a young man who is having a sexual relationship with an older woman: · A woman with a toy boy gets a lot more disapproving looks than a man with a younger woman.
informal an older man who gives a younger woman presents and money in return for their company and often for sex: · I can imagine her cashing checks from some mysterious sugar daddy.
if you are going out with a boy or man, you have him as your boyfriend: · She’s been going out with Jack for a couple of months.
→ girlfriend a girl or woman that you have a romantic relationship with, especially for a fairly long time: · Katherine was his first girlfriend.
the person you are married to, or the person you are living with and having a sexual relationship with: · He brought his partner along to the party.
informal someone who was your girlfriend or boyfriend in the past: · I found a love letter from one of his old flames.
a woman that a man has a sexual relationship with even though he is married to someone else. Often used when the man is famous or powerful: · The president had a mistress for many years.
someone who you have a sexual relationship with, but who you are not married to: · He was going to meet his secret lover.
the woman who a man is going to marry: · Rod plans to marry his fiancée later this year.
informal a man’s former wife or girlfriend: · My ex looks after the children on Thursdays.
if you are going out with a girl or woman, she is your girlfriend: · She’s going out with a guy she met at work.
Longman Language Activatorsomeone that you have a romantic or sexual relationship with a girl or woman that you have a romantic relationship with, especially for a fairly long time: somebody's girlfriend: · I met my brother's new girlfriend last night.· Katherine is his first girlfriend since breaking up with Maggie.have a girlfriend: · Does Mark have a girlfriend?old/ex-/former girlfriend (=someone who used to be your girlfriend): · Denver police said the suspect had earlier made threats to kill his ex-girlfriend and then himself.serious/steady girlfriend (=a girlfriend that you have a serious romantic relationship with): · Wendell hasn't had a steady girlfriend in years.
a boy or man that you have a romantic relationship with, especially for a fairly long time : somebody's boyfriend: · Josh was my first boyfriend.· All she does is talk about her boyfriend.have a boyfriend: · I was talking to this guy at the bar and he starting asking me whether I was married or had a boyfriend.old/ex-/former boyfriend (=someone who used to be your boyfriend): · Oh, my God! I've just seen Barry, my ex-boyfriend.serious/steady boyfriend (=a boyfriend that you have a serious romantic relationship with): · Sarah's doing well and has a serious boyfriend, Michael, whom she plans to marry next year.
someone that you have a serious romantic and sexual relationship with, especially someone that you live with: · Sweden allows gay partners to receive many of the benefits awarded to heterosexual married couples.sexual partner: · The survey found that only about one of every four men had had ten or more sexual partners over their lifetime.
a woman who has a sexual relationship with a man who is married to someone else: · She thought that her husband had a mistress but could not prove it.· The former Prime Minister's wife and mistress both attended the funeral.
someone who you have a sexual relationship with, without being married to them: somebody's lover: · That night she received a call from her lover.have a lover: · Over her lifetime, Catherine had many lovers.become lovers: · A few nights later, they became lovers.be lovers: · Kilpatrick claims that she and the congressman were once lovers.
informal someone who was your girlfriend or boyfriend in the past: · In a box in the closet, I found love letters from one of his old flames.· After 17 years of marriage, he left his wife for an old flame he ran into at a high school reunion.
someone who likes something very much someone who likes a particular sport, team, or famous entertainer very much: · Thousands of fans came to hear Oasis play.· a football fanfan of: · Fans of Sylvester Stallone will enjoy this movie.
someone who likes a particular activity very much: music/car/wine/animal etc lover: · We are a nation of animal lovers.· Every jazz lover dreams of visiting New Orleans.lover of: · Lovers of night life won't be able to resist the many nightclubs in the area.
someone who likes a subject, activity, performer etc very much, is very interested in them and knows a lot about them: · Enthusiasts are willing to pay up to $12,000 for an original copy of the book.football/film/jazz etc enthusiast: · Golf enthusiasts will be able to see the tournament live on TV.· The exhibition will be of interest to classic car owners and other motoring enthusiasts.
informal someone who is extremely interested in a particular activity, especially when other people think they are a little strange for liking it so much: health/tv/sports etc freak: · Raw vegetables and nuts have always been a favourite with health-food freaks.· One Beatle's freak is reported to have paid $18,000 for Paul McCartney's birth certificate.
informal someone who does, eats, watches etc something a lot because they enjoy it so much that they cannot stop doing it - use this especially when you do not think someone should be spending so much time doing or being involved in a particular thing: TV/news/fast food etc junkie: · If you're a shopping junkie, then this is the channel for you!· You'd have to be a real political junkie to remember that Tsongas won the New Hampshire Primary in 1992.TV/news/fast food etc addict: · My sons and my husband are all football addicts.
formal someone who likes something such as art or literature very much and spends a lot of their time and money on it: · He's a devotee of old Hollywood movies.· Urquhart, a rich devotee of the arts, made generous donations to the museum.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY a pair of young lovers music lovers animal loversCOLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES Beth is an animal lover (=someone who likes animals). star-crossed lovers (=people who love each other but cannot be together)COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADJECTIVE
a pair of young lovers music lovers animal lovers Beth is an animal lover (=someone who likes animals). (=someone who loves dogs)· Britain is a nation of dog lovers.
· For music lovers, the city has two world-famous orchestras.· Her recordings delighted music lovers.
· Outside, two teenagers were having a lovers’ quarrel.
star-crossed lovers (=people who love each other but cannot be together)· He was a great lover of cats.· Of course, making a rational decision about when to have children is asking a great deal of lovers.· I am no great lover or defender of the legal profession.· We are the greatest lovers in the world.· Show me the tyrants who have been great lovers.· Tough, quick of temper, a great lover, whose seminal-sac was ever full.· He was still the great lover, and the woman beside him was the reason for his constant philandering.
· A jealous lover certainly would be acting on his own.
· The thought came back of the two as young lovers.· The death of two young lovers was the cause.· Three pairs of young lovers walked by, hand in hand, whispering dreams of emigration.· According to legend they were young lovers whom the druids forbade to marry.· It's not the young lovers I marvel at, but the older ones, such as one couple I see regularly.· What on earth was wrong with a woman having a younger lover?· It was a very sad play, because the young lovers die at the end.· Can a younger lover beat the ageing blues - or would a change of style do the trick for you?
NOUN· Actress and animal lover, Damaris Hayman is leading a campaign to keep the animal collection in the Park.· And, unlike some animal lovers, she likes people.· Perhaps it was the universal bond between animal lovers and vets that made it so easy to become part of the community.· Would that as many animal lovers were as quick to speak and defend dumb animals instead of staying silent as so many do.· At Beckford in Worcestershire fifty hedgehogs have been brought in by worried animal lovers.· An adventurer and an animal lover, Goodall was also 23 and beautiful.· But the plan was slammed by animal lovers yesterday.· Shocked animal lovers have protested to the ministry, but the tests are to go ahead.
· Royal art on show ART lovers will tomorrow be able to view more than 30 watercolours painted by Prince Charles.· I'd heard he was an art lover.· For all those years Adolph Brückner had guarded his bloody loot and built his reputation as an art lover around it.
· He was not a music lover, nor was he particularly attracted by any cultural activity.· At last, a clear picture of music lovers and lovers.· A must for all Guinness and music lovers.· Most music lovers assume the convention was widely established at least by the early days of this century.· A music lover to the core, Nanny couldn't help trotting over to inspect it.· But by noW Slaughter, always a music lover, was sure he wanted to be in the record business.· A keen music lover he was also honorary general secretary of the Darlington Music Festival which finished at the weekend.· Now music lovers have come to the choirs rescue.
VERB· Nahum was becoming a feverishly energetic lover.· They became roommates, not lovers.· From being polite strangers they had become like sparring lovers speaking their minds with a familiarity which was extraordinary in its intensity.· They meet in a daily group therapy session, and very quickly become lovers.· Penry did use persuasion on Leonora next time they met, but it had nothing to do with becoming her lover.· Florence liked to drink and laugh as Margarett did, and eventually the two became lovers.· They became friends, then lovers, and finally, in 1809, husband and wife.· A few nights later, they became lovers.
· However, the reverse of this experience was reported to me by a woman who lost her lover in a drowning accident.· They've probably lost their husbands or lovers in the war, they're alone and frightened.· I had gained a poet but was losing a lover, perhaps the last I would ever know.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
- She had a live-in boyfriend to whom she devoted most of her time and energy.
- She met her live-in boyfriend on-line.
- She took no new live-in lover, and as far as she was aware, neither did Charles.
- Two divorces, a long string of live-in boyfriends.
WORD FAMILYadjectivelovable ≠ unlovablelovelesslovelylovingunlovednounloveloverloveliness.loveyverbloveadverblovingly
1someone’s lover is the person they are having a sexual relationship with but who they are not married to: He killed his wife’s lover. Nicola and I were lovers. a pair of young lovers2someone who likes something very much: music lovers animal loverslover of lovers of the outdoors