• (British) IPA: /luː/
• (America) IPA: /lu/

1. A cry to urge on hunting dogs.
   • 1608, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of King Lear, Scene xi, ll. 1857 f. ↗:

     Edg. Pilicock sate on pelicocks hill, a lo lo lo.

loo (loos, present participle looing; past and past participle looed)

1. (now dialect, used with at, upon or infinitive) To urge on with cries of loo or (figuratively) by other shouting or outcry.
   • 1667, John Denham, "Directions to a Painter ↗", ll. 21 f.:

     And therefore next uncouple either Hound [sc. George Monck and Prince Rupert],
     And loo them at two Hares ere one be found.

loo (uncountable)

1. Alternative form of lanterloo#English|lanterloo: the card game.
   • 1675, [William] Wycherley, The Country-wife, a Comedy, […], London: Printed for Thomas Dring, […], OCLC 912643989 ↗; republished London: Printed for T[homas] Dring, and sold by R. Bentley, and S. Magnes […], 1688, OCLC 7479409 ↗, epilogue ↗:

     And my Intreagues ſo baſhfully diſown / That they may doubted be by few or none, / May kiſs the Cards at picquet#English|Picque, ombre#English|Hombre,—Lu, / And ſo be taught to kiſs the Lady too; [...]

   • 1714, Alexander Pope, The Rape of the Lock, iii, 22:

     Ev'n mighty Pam that Kings and Queens o'erthrew,
     And mow'd down Armies in the Fights of Lu.

   • 1731, Jonathan Swift, To Dr. Helsham, 16:

     Yet, ladies are seldom at ombre or lue sick.

   • 1813, Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, I, Ch. viii, p. 80:

     On entering the drawing-room, she found the whole party at loo.

2. The penalty paid to the pool in lanterloo for breaking certain rules or failing to take a trick.
3. An act that prompts such a penalty.
4. A game of lanterloo.
5. (figuratively) Any group of people.

loo (loos, present participle looing; past and past participle looed)

1. (transitive) To beat in the card game lanterloo.
2. To pay a penalty to the pool for breaking certain rules or failing to take a trick in lanterloo.
3. (figurative, now dialect) To pay any penalty to any community.

loo (plural loos)

1. (fashion, obsolete) A half-mask, particularly (historical) those velvet half-masks fashionable in the 17th century as a means of protecting women's complexion from the sun.
   • a. 1685, Mary Evelyn, "The Fop-dictionary" in Mundus Muliebris, [http://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/eebo/A38815.0001.001/1:5?rgn=div1;view=fulltext p. 18]:

     Loo Mask. An half Mask.

loo

1. (India) A hot dust-bearing wind found in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and the Punjab.
   • 1888, Rudyard Kipling, "The Man Who Would be King" in The Phantom ’Rickshaw and Other Tales, p. 78:

     It was a pitchy black night, as stifling as a June night can be, and the loo, the red-hot wind from the westward, was booming among the tinder-dry trees and pretending that the rain was on its heels.

loo (plural loos)

1. (UK, Australia, NZ) A lavatory: a room used for urination and defecation.
   • 1940, Nancy Mitford, Pigeon Pie, Ch. ii, p. 27:

     I suppose it is unreal because we have been expecting it [sc. World War II] for so long now, and have known that it must be got over before we can go on with our lives. Like in the night when you want to go to the loo and it is miles away down a freezing cold passage and yet you know you have to go down that passage before you can be happy and sleep again.

   • 2006, Garth Thompson & al., The Guide′s Guide to Guiding, 3rd ed., p. 160 ↗:

     Ensure that the tents are well-sited and clean, rubbish bins empty, and that the loos have toilet paper.

2. (UK, Australia, NZ) A toilet: a fixture used for urination and defecation.
   • 2009, Katharina Kane, Lonely Planet: The Gambia and Senegal, p. 275 ↗:

     The lack of running water in rural areas often makes Western-style loos hygienic disasters. Suddenly the noncontact squat toilet doesn′t look like such a bad option any more (as long as you roll up your trouser legs).

   • 2010, Meegan Jones, Sustainable Event Management, p. 206 ↗:

     Waterless urinals are a great way of keeping the guys out of the cubicle toilets, keeping the urine separated from the solid waste (when using composting loos) and reducing water consumption if you have flush loos.

• (room) See Thesaurus:bathroom
• (fixture) See Thesaurus:toilet

loo

1. Lieutenant.
   • 2012, J. D. Robb, New York to Dallas, Penguin (ISBN 9780425246894), page 91

     I asked my loo to let me escort you in. I wanted a moment to thank you personally.” “There's no need.” “So you said before, but there is. And was. I'll take you in to Lieutenant Ricchio.”

1. Surname