louse
[ noun lous; verb lous, louz ]
/ noun laʊs; verb laʊs, laʊz /
noun, plural lice [lahys] /laɪs/ for 1–3, lous·es for 4.
any small, wingless insect of the order Anoplura (sucking louse), parasitic on humans and other mammals and having mouthparts adapted for sucking, as Pediculus humanus (body louse or head louse) and Phthirius pubis (crab louse or pubic louse).
any insect of the order Mallophaga (bird louse, biting louse, or chewing louse), parasitic on birds and mammals, having mouthparts adapted for biting.
Slang.
a contemptible person, especially an unethical one.
verb (used with object), loused, lous·ing.
to delouse.
Verb Phrases
louse up, Slang.
to spoil; botch: Miscasting loused up the movie.
Origin of louse
before 900; 1910–15
for def 4; Middle English
lous(e),
luse, plural
lise, lice; Old English
lūs, plural
lȳs; cognate with Dutch
luis, German
Laus, Old Norse
lūs
Words nearby louse
lourdes,
lourenço marques,
lourie,
louring,
loury,
louse,
louse up,
louser,
lousewort,
lousy,
lousy with
British Dictionary definitions for louse up
louse
/ (laʊs) /
noun plural lice (laɪs)
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 man
Related adjective: pedicular
biting louse or bird louse
any wingless insect of the order Mallophaga, such as the chicken louse: external parasites of birds and mammals with biting mouthparts
any of various similar but unrelated insects, such as the plant louse and book louse
plural louses slang
an unpleasant or mean person
verb (tr)
to remove lice from
(foll by up) slang
to ruin or spoil
Word Origin for louse
Old English
lūs; related to Old High German, Old Norse
lūs
Medical definitions for louse up
louse
[ lous ]
n. pl. lice (līs)
Any of numerous small, flat-bodied, wingless biting or sucking insects of the orders Mallophaga or Anoplura, many of which are external parasites on humans.
Idioms and Phrases with louse up
louse up
Spoil, ruin, bungle. For example, The bad weather loused up our plans, or Your change of mind really loused me up. This slangy expression originated in World War I, when infestation with lice was the common lot of soldiers in the trenches; its figurative use dates from the 1930s.