English Reference
Noun

libido

n. C / U
C1 Advanced US /ɫəˈbidoʊ/ UK /lɪbˈiːdəʊ/ li·bido UK spelling libidos Astronomy Psychology

n.the natural desire for sex. It is a psychological term used to describe how much interest a person has in sexual activity.

n.the psychic energy or drive associated with sexual instinct. In modern psychological and medical contexts, it refers specifically to sexual desire or drive.


SIMPLE

Stress and lack of sleep can lower your libido.

CONTEXTUAL

The doctor explained that the patient's low libido was likely a side effect of the new medication.

Usage

Uncountable when referring to the general concept of sexual drive; countable when comparing different levels or types of drive.

Drugs that help control the libidos of people who have committed sexual offences could be rolled out for thousands of male prisoners in England and Wales from December 2028, an expert has said.

The Guardian· 22 Aug 2026

Learned borrowing from Latin libīdō (“lust, desire”). Used originally in psychoanalytic contexts.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Level C1 · Advanced
Frequency Occasional
Updated