louse

/lausə/
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Thân thiện
louse

A child looks through a magnifying glass at a louse on a leaf.

Definition
  1. Noun:
    • A small, wingless insect: A parasitic insect that lives on the bodies of humans or other animals, feeding on blood. The plural form is "lice."
    • A contemptible person: (Informal, derogatory) A mean, unpleasant, or unethical person.
Usage
  • The word "louse" is a countable noun. Its standard plural form is "lice."
  • When referring to a single insect, use "a louse." When referring to multiple insects, use "lice."
  • The informal, figurative meaning for a person is always singular ("a louse") or plural ("louses"), though "lice" is not used for people.
Examples
  • Noun (Insect):
    • The school nurse checked the children's hair for lice.
    • A single louse can lay many eggs.
  • Noun (Person):
    • He cheated his friends out of money; what a louse.
    • I don't want to work with that louse again.
Advanced Usage
  • "Louse up" (phrasal verb): To ruin, spoil, or make a mess of something.
    • He managed to louse up the simple instructions.
  • "Lousy with" (idiomatic adjective): To be full of or teeming with something (often something undesirable).
    • The old blanket was lousy with dust mites.
Variants and Related Words
  • Lousy (adjective):
    • Of very poor quality; bad.
      • We had lousy weather on vacation.
    • (Informal) Feeling unwell.
      • I feel lousy today.
    • (Informal) Mean or contemptible.
      • That was a lousy thing to do.
  • Lice (noun): The plural form of "louse" (insect).
Synonyms
  • Insect meaning: Parasite, nit (specifically the egg).
  • Person meaning: Creep, jerk, rat, scoundrel.
Phrasal Verbs
  • Louse up: To botch, ruin, or mismanage.
    • Don't louse up this opportunity by being late.
Related Idioms
  • "Lousy with something": Containing or providing something in large amounts.
    • After the concert, the backstage area was lousy with fans.
louse

A child looks through a magnifying glass at a louse on a leaf.

Noun
  1. wingless insect with mouth parts adapted for biting; mostly parasitic on birds
  2. any of several small insects especially aphids that feed by sucking the juices from plants
  3. a person who has a nasty or unethical character undeserving of respect
  4. wingless usually flattened bloodsucking insect parasitic on warm-blooded animals

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