Lice are small insects that live on the bodies of people or animals and bite them in order to feed off their blood.
louse in British English
(laʊs)
nounWord forms: plurallice (laɪs)
1.
any wingless bloodsucking insect of the order Anoplura: includes Pediculus capitis (head louse), Pediculus corporis (body louse), and the crab louse, all of which infest humans
▶ Related adjective: pedicular
2. biting louse
3.
any of various similar but unrelated insects, such as the plant louse and book louse
4. Word forms: plurallouses slang
an unpleasant or mean person
verb(transitive)
5.
to remove lice from
6. (foll by up) slang
to ruin or spoil
Word origin
Old English lūs; related to Old High German, Old Norse lūs
louse in American English
(laʊs; for v., also laʊz)
nounWord forms: plurallice
1.
a.
any of an order (Anoplura) of small, flat, wingless insects with sucking mouthparts, parasitic on the skin or hair of humans and some other mammals; esp., the human body louse (Pediculus humanus corporis) and head louse (P. h. capitis)
b.
any of various arthropods that suck blood or juice from other animals or plants
2.
bird louse
3.
any of various other small insects, arachnids, and crustaceans that are not parasitic, as the book louse or wood louse
4. Slang
a person regarded as mean, contemptible, etc.
verb transitiveWord forms: loused or ˈlousing
5. Rare
to delouse
Idioms:
louse up
Word origin
ME lous < OE lus (pl. lys), akin to Ger laus < IE *lūs > Welsh lleuen, Bret laouen
Examples of 'louse' in a sentence
louse
She only needs treatment if you find live lice.
The Sun (2008)
To treat use a lotion that is effective at killing head lice and eggs.
The Sun (2012)
She checks your farmed salmon for sea lice!
Joanna Blythman SHOPPED: The Shocking Power of British Supermarkets (2004)
One of the problems with being a mammal is that your fur gets infested with lice.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Head lice are the plague spread by close head contact in schools.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Head lice live only on humans and die after a day or two away from a scalp.
The Sun (2012)
Sea lice latch on to the fish and feed on their skin and muscle tissue.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Her once lustrous hair was dirty and infested by lice.
The Sun (2013)
Avoid lotions that use chemical pesticides as many head lice are now resistant to these.
The Sun (2012)
She was infested with lice at this time and her feet were so damaged by frostbite she could not wear her boots.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Alternatively try wet combing regularly over a nine-day period to remove newly hatched lice.
The Sun (2012)
Wet combing - using conditioner and systematically combing out live lice does work.
The Sun (2006)
What of salmon farms on the west coast and in Ireland still unable to control their burdens of sea lice?
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Body lice, which live in clothes, are more sinister and can carry fatal diseases.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Sir, Head lice are endemic in our primary schools.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
It did kill the lice and eggs, didn't smell bad and left no residue or oil.
The Sun (2015)
And the farmer wouldn't have the straw back in his yards, because of his animals getting the fleas and the lice.
Max Arthur Lost Voices of the Edwardians: 19011910 in the words of the Men & Women Who WereThere (2006)
Horrified by the lice and fleas, she had thrown her clothes away and was covered only in a blanket, although it was midwinter.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
In other languages
louse
British English: louse NOUN
A louse is a small insect that lives on people's and animals' bodies.