lice

Meanings

1. 1nounplural

   Very small wingless insects that live on the skin or hair of people and animals and bite them.

   Grammar: This is the plural form; the singular is "louse," which is rare in everyday speech.

   Patterns

   • have lice
   • catch lice
   • treat lice
   • lice in someone's hair

   The school sent a letter home because several children had lice.

   She checked her son's hair carefully for lice.

   Lice spread quickly when young children share hats and combs.

2. 2nounpluraltechnical

   Small insects that live on the bodies of birds, fish, or plants and feed on them.

   Grammar: Used as the plural of "louse" for many insect species, not only human head lice.

   Patterns

   • fish lice
   • plant lice
   • bird lice

   Fish lice can damage the skin of farmed salmon.

   Biologists studied the lice living on the seabirds' feathers.

   Gardeners sometimes find plant lice on the undersides of leaves.

Common combinations

head lice

Head lice are common among primary school children.

catch lice

You can catch lice from close contact with someone who has them.

get rid of lice

Special shampoo is used to get rid of lice.

lice eggs

Lice eggs, called nits, stick firmly to the hair.

a lice outbreak

The nursery closed early because of a lice outbreak.

Synonyms and how they differ

nits

"Nits" are the eggs or empty shells of lice, not the insects themselves, so the words are not interchangeable.

parasites

"Parasites" is a much broader word for any living thing that feeds off another; lice are one kind of parasite.

Word family

louse noun

The singular form: one such insect.

lousy adjective

Informal: very bad, or covered with lice in its oldest sense.

Commonly confused: lice or mice? lice or flies?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “lice”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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