louse
louse Lexical Profile
louse Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A small, wingless, parasitic insect that lives on the skin of mammals and birds.
"The children were sent home from school after a louse was found in a student's hair."
A contemptible, unpleasant, or unethical person.
"She realized her former business partner was a louse who had been secretly embezzling from the company for years."
• verb
To spoil, ruin, or botch a situation or opportunity (typically used with 'up').
"He managed to louse up the presentation by accidentally deleting the most important slides right before the meeting."
To remove lice from a person or animal.
"The primatologist observed the monkeys as they would meticulously louse each other during their daily social grooming."
Word Nuance & Usage
When referring to the insect, the plural form is strictly 'lice', but when referring to a contemptible person, the regular plural 'louses' is often used.
• Rhymes for louse
Word Origin & Etymology
From Middle English 'lous', derived from Old English 'lūs', of Germanic origin; related to Dutch 'luis' and German 'Laus'.