Phrase guide

make love

verb · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

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Pronunciation

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1

verb

Meaning 1

To engage in sexual intercourse.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: euphemistic

Examples

  • I caught them making love on my couch.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: approach, cohabit, common, company, copulate, couple, engage in sex, exchange flesh, have intimate relations, have marital relations, have sex, have sexual relations, intercourse, know, know someone in the biblical sense, make love, mate, share a bed, sleep together, strain, bang, bauf, beat, bone, boff, boink, bonk, bop, bounce, breed, bump nasties, bump uglies, catch a dick, clap cheeks, dance, discuss Uganda, dip one's pen in someone's inkwell, do it, do the deed, do the nasty, eff, engender, expletive deleted, frack, frak, frick, frig, fuck, get busy, get down, get freaky, get it, get it on, get jiggy, get laid, get lucky, get one's dick wet, get one's end away, get one's freak on, get one's groove on, get one's leg over, get one's oats, get physical, get some, get the dirty water off one's chest, graft the forked tree, go all the way, haul one's ashes, have it away, have it off, hide the salami, hide the sausage, hide the wienie, hike the Appalachian Trail, hook up, hump, jig-jig, knock boots, lay pipe, lay the pipe, make it, make out, make the beast with two backs, make whoopee, meddle, ming, Netflix and chill, penetrate, pipe, pipe down, play, play hide the sausage, pound, rail, ride, rock and roll, roger, roll around, root, screw, see someone's etchings, sex, shag, shaboink, shelve, show someone one's etchings, slap bellies, stick, tumble

Antonyms: none provided

2

verb

Meaning 2

To make amorous approaches (to); to woo, romance, court.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: archaic

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: address, beau, bedear, chase after, court, endear, make a move (on), make love, pitch woo, put the moves on, romance, solicit, spark, woo

Antonyms: none provided

3

verb

Meaning 3

have sexual intercourse with

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • This student sleeps with everyone in her dorm
  • Adam knew Eve
  • Were you ever intimate with this man?

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: sleep together, roll in the hay, love, make out, sleep with, get laid, have sex, know, do it, be intimate, have intercourse, have it away, have it off, screw, fuck, jazz, eff, hump, lie with, bed, have a go at it, bang, get it on, bonk

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: copulate, mate, pair, couple

Narrower terms: take, have, fornicate

History

Etymology

Calque of Old Occitan far amor, Middle French faire l'amour.

Across languages

Translations

70 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chungli Ao: medem — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • Arabic: ضَاجَعَ (ḍājaʕa) — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • Arabic: جَامَعَ (jāmaʕa) — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • Arabic: وَاقَعَ (wāqaʕa) — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • Armenian: սիրով զբաղվել (sirov zbaġvel) — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • Belarusian: займа́цца каха́ннем (zajmácca kaxánnjem) — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • Bulgarian: пра́вя любо́в (právja ljubóv) — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • Catalan: fer l'amor — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • Chinese Mandarin: 做愛 /做爱 (zuò'ài) — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • Chinese Mandarin: 作愛 /作爱 (zuò'ài) — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • Czech: souložit — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • Czech: milovat se — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • Danish: elske — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • Dutch: de liefde bedrijven — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • Dutch: vrijen — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • Egyptian: n:k-D53 (nk) — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • Esperanto: amori — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • Finnish: rakastella — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • French: faire l'amour — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • Galician: facer o amor — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • German: Liebe machen — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • Greek: κάνω έρωτα (káno érota) — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • Hindi: संभोग करना (sambhog karnā) — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • Hindi: प्रेम लीला (prem līlā) — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • Hungarian: szeretkezik — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • Hungarian: szerelmeskedik — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • Icelandic: njóta ásta — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • Icelandic: elskast — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • Icelandic: hafa samfarir — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • Indonesian: bercinta — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • Italian: fare l'amore — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • Japanese: はめ倒す (hametaosu) — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • Japanese: 嵌める (hameru) — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • Korean: 섹스를 하다 (sekseu-reul hada) — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • Korean: 성관계를 하다 (seonggwan'gye-reul hada) — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • Macedonian: води љубов (vodi ljubov) — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • Malagasy: manao firaisana — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • Malagasy: miray ara-nofo — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • Malagasy: manao firaisana ara-nofo — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • Mongolian: хурьцах (xurʹcax) — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • Norwegian Bokmål: elske — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • Persian: عشق ورزیدن ('ešq varzidan) — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • Polish: kochać się — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • Polish: uprawiać miłość — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • Portuguese: fazer amor — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • Romanian: face dragoste — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • Russian: занима́ться любо́вью (zanimátʹsja ljubóvʹju) — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • Russian: заня́ться любо́вью (zanjátʹsja ljubóvʹju) — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • Sanskrit: विवाहार्थं प्रार्थयते (vivāhārthaṃ prārthayate) — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • Serbo-Croatian: водити љубав — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • Serbo-Croatian: voditi ljubav — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • Slovak: milovať sa — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • Slovak: súložiť — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • Slovene: ljubiti se — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • Spanish: hacer el amor — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • Swedish: älska — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • Thai: มีเพศสัมพันธ์ (mii pêet sǎm-pan) — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • Thai: ประเวณี (bprà-wee-nii) — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • Thai: หลับนอน (làp-nɔɔn) — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • Turkish: sevişmek — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • Turkish: birlikte olmak — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • Turkish: aşk yapmak — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • Ukrainian: коха́тися (koxátysja) — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • Ukrainian: займа́тися любо́в'ю (zajmátysja ljubóvʺju) — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • Vietnamese: làm tình — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • Vietnamese: tán tỉnh ai — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • Vietnamese: tỏ tình với ai — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • Vietnamese: ôm ấp hôn hít ai — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • Vietnamese: ăn nằm với ai — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate
  • Vietnamese: ái ân — to engage in sexual intercourse — see also copulate