louse

Everyday

1. A tiny insect without wings that lives on the skin or hair of people or animals and feeds on blood; plural «lice». tree →
2. (slang, rude) A nasty, mean person; plural «louses». tree →
3. (louse up, informal) To spoil or mess something up. tree →

In the lessons

In health and school life, head lice spread easily between children; parents comb hair with a special nit comb and use treatment, and it is not a sign of being dirty. In science, lice are parasites. In old stories and slang, calling someone a louse is an insult. Phrases: head lice, nit comb, louse up.

Examples

• There's a note from school saying a child in our class has head lice. tree →
• A louse is a tiny insect that lives in hair. tree →
• Mum combed my hair to get rid of the lice. tree →
• Lice are parasites that feed on blood. tree →
• «You louse! You stole my sweets!» tree →
• Don't louse up the plan by being late. tree →
• In history, soldiers in the trenches suffered from lice. tree →

Note

Irregular plural: one louse, two lice (like mouse/mice). For the insult, the plural is «louses». Nits are lice eggs. Myth: head lice like clean hair as much as dirty hair; anyone can get them. Adjective: lousy (very bad, informal).