lose Hear it!

lose Definition

lose (lo̵̅o̅z)

transitive verb lost, los′·ing

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

Etymology: ME losen, lesen, merging OE losian, to lose, be lost (< los, loss) + leosan, to lose, akin to OHG (vir)liosan, Goth (fra)liusan < IE base *leu-, to cut off, separate > Gr lyein, to dissolve; L luere, to loose, release (from debt)

intransitive verb

  1. to undergo or suffer loss
  2. to be defeated in a contest, etc.
  3. to be slow: said of a clock, etc.

lose Related Forms
los′·able adjective
lose Idioms

lose it

Informal
  1. to fail to maintain one's composure, as by an outburst of anger, laughter, etc.
  2. to suffer temporary or permanent diminution of one's ability, skill, etc. the pitcher lost it in the sixth inning

lose oneself

  1. to lose one's way; go astray; become bewildered
  2. to become absorbed
  3. to disappear from view or notice

lose out

☆

Informal to fail; be unsuccessful

lose out on

☆

Informal to fail to win, gain, or take advantage of

lose Synonyms

lose

v.

  1. To bring about a loss

    mislay, forget, be careless with; see misplace.

  2. To incur loss

    suffer, miss, be deprived of, fail to keep, suffer loss, be reduced by, be impoverished from, become poorer by, be at a disadvantage because of, let slip through the fingers*, come out of the small end of the horn*; see also waste 1.

    Antonyms profit*, gain, improve.

  3. To fail to win

    be defeated, suffer defeat, be worsted, be left behind, be outdistanced, go down in defeat, succumb, fall, be the loser, miss, have the worst of it, be humbled, take defeat at the hands of, drop*, go down for the count*, get it in the neck*, come out on the short end of the score*, be sunk*; see also fail 1.

    Antonyms win*, triumph, be victorious.

  4. To suffer financially

    squander, expend, dissipate; see spend 1, waste 2.

lose Usage Examples

Object

  • weight: Mom of four Kerry loved the online plan She lost weight just in time to go on holiday with her family.
  • sight: The US must never lose sight of its traditions of individual freedom.
  • touch: All too often it has lost touch with wider intellectual currents.
  • battle: We lost the battle of the posters, which we were successful at in 2004.
  • plot: Yet more cruising news: George Michael really has lost the plot, going on TV to plug his antics.
  • money: The player is fully aware of the fact that there is the risk of losing money through the use of this software.

Preposition: on

  • Monday: Lot of new before losing on monday on june harrah's multiple camera crews.

Preposition: at

  • sea: Thoughts go out to many lost at sea 25 Jul: Lives lost at sea were remembered at a somber service in Grimsby.

Noun phrase with adjective complement

  • due: Those who have booked half or full board may lose a meal due to their time of arrival or departure from their hotel.

Adjective complement

  • 2st: She's now a size 8/10 and has no worries about getting in her bikini for summer Mom of twins Rachel lost nearly 2st!
  • 1lb: I have lost 1lb short of 1 1/2 stone loss and I have done that through Weight Watchers and gentle exercising.
  • most: At that time, Mr. Nejifi lost most of his land.

Followed by an intransitive particle

  • out: I do not want the arts at the top end to lose out, " she told the culture committee.

Used with why or when

  • when: But sometimes it does seem that a sense of perspective can be lost when determining what is reasonable.

Preposition: in

  • transit: Lost Packages Despite our best efforts parcels are ocassionally lost in transit.
  • semi-final: Allen admitted he was devastated at losing in the play-off semi-finals for the second successive season.
  • fog: The more content added to the course, the more likely the really critical information will get lost in the fog.
  • shuffle: People infected with HIV and those suffering the ravages of AIDS, are lost in the shuffle of this abstract pursuit ' .
  • blitz: The first notes will, I am sorry to say, be very sketchy as all the early years were lost in the blitz.
  • play-off: He finished fourth in his first season in charge but lost in the play-offs to Gillingham.
lose Quotes

Pesons le gain et la perte, en prenant croix que Dieu est. Estimons ces deux cas: si vous gagnez, vous gagnez tout; si vous perdez, vous ne perdez rien.Gagezdonc qu'il est, sans he¤  siter. Let us weigh up the gain and loss involved in calling heads that God exists. Let us assess thetwo cases: if you winyou win everything, if you lose you lose nothing.Do not hesitate then; wager that he does exist.

—Pascal, Blaise

It's prudent to gain the whole world and lose your own soul. But don't forget that your soul sticks to you if you stick to it; but the world has a way of slipping through your fingers.

—Shaw, George Bernard

We really win if we win. But we may even win if we lose.

—Dole, Bob (RobertJoseph)

Life, to be sure, is nothing much to lose; But young men think it is, and we were young.

—Housman, A(lfred) E(dward)

We ofthesinking middle class†havenothing to losebut our aitches.

—Orwell, George pseudonym of  Eric Arthur Blair

I only regretthat Ihave but onelifeto losefor mycountry.

—Hale, Nathan

There are times in politics whenyou must be on theright side and lose.

—Galbraith,John Kenneth

It signifies nothing to play well and lose.

—Fyleman, Rose

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: Atimeto be born, and atimeto die; atimetoplant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; Atimetoweep, and atimeto laugh; atimetomourn, and a time to dance: A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

—Bible (Old Testament)

To lose one parent, Mr Worthing, may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness.

—Wilde, Oscar Fingal O'FlahertieWills

Perdre Mais perdre vraiment Pour laisser place a'   la trouvaille Perdre La vie pour trouver laVictoire. To lose But really to lose And make room for discovery To lose Life so as to discover Victory.

—Kostrowitzki

for whatever we lose (like a you or a me) it's always ourselves we find in the sea

—cummings, e e pen name of  Edward Estlin Cummings

Browse dictionary entries near lose

  1. ‹ Los Angeles
  2. ‹ Los Alamos
  3. ‹ LOS
  4. ‹ lory
  5. ‹ lorry
  6. ‹ Lorraine
  7. ‹ Lorrain
  8. ‹ Lorna
  9. ‹ lorn
  10. ‹ loris
  1. losel ›
  2. loser ›
  3. losing ›
  4. loss ›
  5. loss budget ›
  6. loss leader ›
  7. loss-of-bargain rule ›
  8. loss ratio ›
  9. losses ›
  10. lossless compression ›