losing

[ loo-zing ]

/ ˈlu zɪŋ /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR losing ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

causing or suffering loss.

noun

losings, losses.

Origin of losing

before 950; Middle English, Old English; see lose, -ing², -ing¹

OTHER WORDS FROM losing

los·ing·ly, adverb

Words nearby losing

lose touch, lose track, losel, loser, losey, losing, losing battle, a, losing hazard, losingest, losings, loslyf

Definition for losing (2 of 2)

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.

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

Example sentences from the Web for losing

She had been, he says, the backbone of their family and losing her shifted their entire emotional landscape.

Everyone at This Dinner Party Has Lost Someone |Samantha Levine |January 6, 2015 |DAILY BEAST
But there's a ton of value for me in my background and my history, and losing it would be a shame.

My Week on Jewish Tinder |Emily Shire |January 5, 2015 |DAILY BEAST
Duke kept running for offices and losing by ever-greater margins.

The Louisiana Racists Who Courted Steve Scalise |Jason Berry |January 3, 2015 |DAILY BEAST
In fact, Clark fell back first from her blows, losing his cap, tie, and badge in the melee.

Dr. King Goes to Hollywood: The Flawed History of ‘Selma’ |Gary May |January 2, 2015 |DAILY BEAST

For the first time in American history, rural America has been losing population.

Will Texas Stay Texan? |David Fontana |December 29, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
He made as great an outcry about Sophie's going as he had about losing his stones.

The Black Opal |Katharine Susannah Prichard
They were, however, losing heavily, and found themselves unable to get any further.

New York Times Current History: The European War, Vol 2, No. 1, April, 1915 |Various
I s'pose he wasn't going to take any chances of losing his heiress.

The Mystery of Murray Davenport |Robert Neilson Stephens
From this moment on he would be frantic for fear of losing it.

Operation: Outer Space |William Fitzgerald Jenkins
He commonly rode to the race-ground amongst the crowd, and kept in memory both the winning and losing horses.

Yorkshire Oddities, Incidents and Strange Events |S. Baring-Gould

British Dictionary definitions for losing (1 of 2)

losing

/ (ˈluːzɪŋ) /

adjective

unprofitable; failing the business was a losing concern

British Dictionary definitions for losing (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 losing

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

losing

adjective

noun

Origin of losing

OTHER WORDS FROM losing

Words nearby losing

Definition for losing (2 of 2)

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

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

Verb Phrases

Origin of lose

OTHER WORDS FROM lose

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH lose

Example sentences from the Web for losing

British Dictionary definitions for losing (1 of 2)

adjective

British Dictionary definitions for losing (2 of 2)

verb loses, losing or lost (mainly tr)

Derived forms of lose

Word Origin for lose

Idioms and Phrases with losing

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

losing

adjective

noun

Origin of losing

OTHER WORDS FROM losing

Words nearby losing

Definition for losing (2 of 2)

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

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

Verb Phrases

Origin of lose

OTHER WORDS FROM lose

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH lose

Words related to losing

Example sentences from the Web for losing

British Dictionary definitions for losing (1 of 2)

adjective

British Dictionary definitions for losing (2 of 2)

verb loses, losing or lost (mainly tr)

Derived forms of lose

Word Origin for lose

Idioms and Phrases with losing