transitive verb lost, losing
- to bring to ruin or destruction: a ship lost in the storm
- Theol. to incur the damnation of: to lose one's soul
- to become unable to find; mislay: to lose one's keys
- to have taken from one by negligence, accident, death, removal, separation, etc.; suffer the loss of; be deprived of
- to suffer the miscarriage or stillbirth of (a baby)
- to get rid of (something undesirable): to lose unwanted weight
- to fail to keep or maintain: to lose one's temper, to lose speed
- to fail to see, hear, or understand: she did not lose a word of his speech
- to fail to keep in sight, mind, or existence
- to fail to have, get, take advantage of, etc.; miss: to lose one's chance
- to fail to win or gain: to lose a game
- to cause the loss of: it lost him his job
- to cause to go astray, become bewildered, etc.
- to wander from and not be able to find (one's way, the right track, etc.)
- to fail or be unable to make proper use of; waste: to lose time
- to leave behind; outdistance
- to engross or preoccupy: usually in the passive: to be lost in reverie
- to go slower by: a watch that loses two minutes a day