lossy

American

[law-see, los-ee] / ˈlɔ si, ˈlɒs i /

adjective

Electricity.

(of a material or transmission line) causing appreciable loss or dissipation of energy.

lossy British

/ ˈlɒsɪ /

adjective

(of a dielectric material, transmission line, etc) designed to have a high attenuation; dissipating energy Compare lossless

lossy line

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of lossy

First recorded in 1945–50; loss + -y ¹

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Lossy compression was also essential to the invention of something else introduced in 1992: the MP3, an audio file format made possible by discarding bits of data undetectable to the human ear.

From Slate • Oct. 14, 2019

Lossy audio occupies dramatically less space than lossless, and portable audio players hold only so many songs.

From Time • Oct. 3, 2012

Leon felt slightly relieved, but when he retired to rest that night, in the room allotted to him, he secretly carried Lossy with him, and the dog slept at the foot of his master's bed.

From A Modern Wizard by Ottolengui, Rodrigues

When Leon had taken it from him, Lossy stood in the middle of the floor and shook himself, as a dog does after swimming, until his rumpled fur stood smooth and bushy.

From A Modern Wizard by Ottolengui, Rodrigues

"I will keep Lossy for you, Leon," began the Doctor, but he was interrupted by Leon, who grasped his hand impulsively, crying: "Heaven bless you, Doctor!"

From A Modern Wizard by Ottolengui, Rodrigues

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023