# What does "I love you to death" mean? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 22, 2013, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-i-love-you-to-death-mean/666853 "2013-08-22T04:13:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2025, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-i-love-you-to-death-mean/666853/21 "2025-11-28T01:50:28Z")
I tried searching for the origin of the phrase, but [apparently](https://www.thehistoryofenglish.com/love-someone-to-death-meaning-origin-usage) nobody really knows. > The precise origin of the phrase ‘love someone to death’ is still unclear. That said, it is likely to have developed from the idea of a love that is so intense and overwhelming that it feels as though it will last right up until a person’s last breath. > The precise origin of the phrase, and the date of origin is yet to be determined, as is who first coined the term, and the date it became popularised and made common parlance. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2025, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-i-love-you-to-death-mean/666853/22 "2025-11-28T03:37:43Z")
@ratatoskK, I like your answer best. ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2025, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-i-love-you-to-death-mean/666853/23 "2025-11-28T19:04:31Z")
I’ve never understood it to be referring to a particular person’s death, either the speaker’s or the listener’s. I thought it was just a meaningless intensifier, like “I love you to pieces”. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2025, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-i-love-you-to-death-mean/666853/24 "2025-11-28T19:17:37Z")
One more vote for it meaning, “a whole lot,” and nothing more. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2025, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-i-love-you-to-death-mean/666853/25 "2025-11-28T22:34:00Z")
> [@KDS444](#): > > The phrase, “I love you to death” is often followed by the conjunction “but…” and then a comment on something about the person that you do NOT particularly love. Here, the hyperbole becomes an entrance into a kind of criticism But you can do that simply with “I love you but …” without using the idiom. I don’t think there is anything special about “I love you to death” that invites a counterpoint. You can do this with many statements. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2025, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-i-love-you-to-death-mean/666853/26 "2025-11-29T00:18:26Z")
Do not confuse with “I love you too, death.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-i-love-you-to-death-mean/666853.md?page=1)