lose

[ looz ]

/ luz /

verb (used with object), lost, los·ing.

to come to be without (something in one's possession or care), through accident, theft, etc., so that there is little or no prospect of recovery: I'm sure I've merely misplaced my hat, not lost it.

to fail inadvertently to retain (something) in such a way that it cannot be immediately recovered: I just lost a dime under this sofa.

to suffer the deprivation of: to lose one's job; to lose one's life.

to be bereaved of by death: to lose a sister.

to fail to keep, preserve, or maintain: to lose one's balance; to lose one's figure.

(of a clock or watch) to run slower by: The watch loses three minutes a day.

to give up; forfeit the possession of: to lose a fortune at the gaming table.

to get rid of: to lose one's fear of the dark; to lose weight; She needs to lose those bangs!

to bring to destruction or ruin (usually used passively): Ship and crew were lost.

to condemn to hell; damn.

to have slip from sight, hearing, attention, etc.: to lose him in the crowd.

to stray from or become ignorant of (one's way, directions, etc.): to lose one's bearings.

to leave far behind in a pursuit, race, etc.; outstrip: She managed to lose the other runners on the final lap of the race.

to use to no purpose; waste: to lose time in waiting.

to fail to have, get, catch, etc.; miss: to lose a bargain.

to fail to win (a prize, stake, etc.): to lose a bet.

to be defeated in (a game, lawsuit, battle, etc.): He has lost very few cases in his career as a lawyer.

to cause the loss of: The delay lost the battle for them.

to let (oneself) go astray, miss the way, etc.: We lost ourselves in the woods.

to allow (oneself) to become absorbed or engrossed in something and oblivious to all else: I had lost myself in thought.

(of a physician or other medical personnel) to fail to preserve the life of (a patient): The doctor came out of the operating room and sadly said, “So sorry. We lost him.”

(of a woman) to fail to be delivered of (a live baby) because of miscarriage, complications in childbirth, etc.

verb (used without object), lost, los·ing.

to suffer loss: to lose on a contract.

to suffer defeat or fail to win, as in a contest, race, or game: We played well, but we lost.

to depreciate in effectiveness or in some other essential quality: a classic that loses in translation.

(of a clock, watch, etc.) to run slow.

Verb Phrases

lose out, to suffer defeat or loss; fail to obtain something desired: He got through the preliminaries, but lost out in the finals.

Idioms for lose

lose face. face(def 51).

lose it, Informal. to suddenly lose control of one's emotions: When he said he loved me, I nearly lost it.

Origin of lose

before 900; Middle English losen, Old English -lēosan; replacing Middle English lesen, itself also reflecting Old English -lēosan; cognate with German verlieren, Gothic fraliusan to lose. See loss

OTHER WORDS FROM lose

re·lose, verb (used with object), re·lost, re·los·ing.

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH lose

loose loosen lose loss

Words nearby lose

los gatos, los mochis, los teques, losable, loschmidt's number, lose, lose face, lose ground, lose heart, lose it, lose no time

British Dictionary definitions for lose out (1 of 2)

lose out

verb informal

(intr, adverb) to be defeated or unsuccessful

lose out on to fail to secure or make use of we lost out on the sale

British Dictionary definitions for lose out (2 of 2)

lose

/ (luːz) /

verb loses, losing or lost (mainly tr)

to part with or come to be without, as through theft, accident, negligence, etc

to fail to keep or maintain to lose one's balance

to suffer the loss or deprivation of to lose a parent

to cease to have or possess

to fail to get or make use of to lose a chance

(also intr) to fail to gain or win (a contest, game, etc) to lose the match

to fail to see, hear, perceive, or understand I lost the gist of his speech

to waste to lose money gambling

to wander from so as to be unable to find to lose one's way

to cause the loss of his delay lost him the battle

to allow to go astray or out of sight we lost him in the crowd

(usually passive) to absorb or engross he was lost in contemplation

(usually passive) to cause the death or destruction of two men were lost in the attack

to outdistance or elude he soon lost his pursuers

(intr) to decrease or depreciate in value or effectiveness poetry always loses in translation

(also intr) (of a timepiece) to run slow (by a specified amount) the clock loses ten minutes every day

(of a physician) to fail to sustain the life of (a patient)

(of a woman) to fail to give birth to (a viable baby), esp as the result of a miscarriage

motor racing slang to lose control of (the car), as on a bend he lost it going into Woodcote

lose it slang to lose control of oneself or one's temper

Derived forms of lose

losable, adjective losableness, noun

Word Origin for lose

Old English losian to perish; related to Old English -lēosan as in forlēosan to forfeit. Compare loose

Idioms and Phrases with lose out (1 of 2)

lose out

Fail to succeed, be defeated, as in The election's over, and you've lost out. [Mid-1800s]

Also, lose out on or in. Miss an opportunity to participate, as in We came so late that we lost out on our chance to see her dance, or The Republicans lost out in last fall's elections. [Colloquial; mid-1900s] Also see miss out on.

Idioms and Phrases with lose out (2 of 2)

lose

In addition to the idioms beginning with lose

lose face
lose ground
lose heart
lose it
lose no time
lose one's bearings
lose one's buttons
lose one's cool
lose oneself in
lose one's grip
lose one's head
lose one's hear to
lose one's lunch
lose one's marbles
lose one's mind
lose one's nerve
lose one's shirt
lose one's temper
lose one's touch
lose out
lose sight of
lose sleep over
lose the thread
lose time
lose touch
lose track

also see:

get (lose) one's bearings
keep (lose) one's cool
keep (lose) track
win some, lose some

Also see underlosinglost.

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

lose

verb (used with object), lost, los·ing.

verb (used without object), lost, los·ing.

Verb Phrases

Idioms for lose

Origin of lose

OTHER WORDS FROM lose

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH lose

Words nearby lose

British Dictionary definitions for lose out (1 of 2)

verb informal

British Dictionary definitions for lose out (2 of 2)

verb loses, losing or lost (mainly tr)

Derived forms of lose

Word Origin for lose

Idioms and Phrases with lose out (1 of 2)

Idioms and Phrases with lose out (2 of 2)

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

lose

verb (used with object), lost, los·ing.

verb (used without object), lost, los·ing.

Verb Phrases

Idioms for lose

Origin of lose

OTHER WORDS FROM lose

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH lose

Words nearby lose

Words related to lose out

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []) .push({}); British Dictionary definitions for lose out (1 of 2)

verb informal

British Dictionary definitions for lose out (2 of 2)

verb loses, losing or lost (mainly tr)

Derived forms of lose

Word Origin for lose

Idioms and Phrases with lose out (1 of 2)

Idioms and Phrases with lose out (2 of 2)

British Dictionary definitions for lose out (1 of 2)