lose
Americanverb (used with object)
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loses,
present (3rd person singular)
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lost,
past participle, past
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losing
present participle
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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.
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to fail inadvertently to retain (something) in such a way that it cannot be immediately recovered.
I just lost a dime under this sofa.
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to suffer the deprivation of.
to lose one's job; to lose one's life.
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to be bereaved of by death.
to lose a sister.
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to fail to keep, preserve, or maintain.
to lose one's balance; to lose one's figure.
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(of a clock or watch) to run slower by.
The watch loses three minutes a day.
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to give up; forfeit the possession of.
to lose a fortune at the gaming table.
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to get rid of.
to lose one's fear of the dark; to lose weight; She needs to lose those bangs!
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to bring to destruction or ruin (usually used passively).
Ship and crew were lost.
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to condemn to hell; damn.
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to have slip from sight, hearing, attention, etc..
to lose him in the crowd.
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to stray from or become ignorant of (one's way, directions, etc.).
to lose one's bearings.
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to leave far behind in a pursuit, race, etc.; outstrip.
She managed to lose the other runners on the final lap of the race.
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to use to no purpose; waste.
to lose time in waiting.
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to fail to get or take advantage of; miss.
to lose an opportunity.
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to fail to win (a prize, stake, etc.).
to lose a bet.
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to be defeated in (a game, lawsuit, battle, etc.).
He has lost very few cases in his career as a lawyer.
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to cause the loss of.
The delay lost the battle for them.
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to let (oneself) go astray, miss the way, etc..
We lost ourselves in the woods.
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to allow (oneself) to become absorbed or engrossed in something and oblivious to all else.
I had lost myself in thought.
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(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.”
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(of a woman) to fail to be delivered of (a live baby) because of miscarriage, complications in childbirth, etc.
verb (used without object)
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loses,
present (3rd person singular)
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lost,
past participle, past
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losing
present participle
-
to suffer loss.
to lose on a contract.
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to suffer defeat or fail to win, as in a contest, race, or game.
We played well, but we lost.
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to depreciate in effectiveness or in some other essential quality.
a classic that loses in translation.
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(of a clock, watch, etc.) to run slow.
verb phrase
idioms
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lose face. face.
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lose it, to suddenly lose control of one's emotions.
When he said he loved me, I nearly lost it.
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lose something in translation. see lose in translation.
verb
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to part with or come to be without, as through theft, accident, negligence, etc
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to fail to keep or maintain
to lose one's balance
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to suffer the loss or deprivation of
to lose a parent
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to cease to have or possess
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to fail to get or make use of
to lose a chance
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(also intr) to fail to gain or win (a contest, game, etc)
to lose the match
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to fail to see, hear, perceive, or understand
I lost the gist of his speech
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to waste
to lose money gambling
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to wander from so as to be unable to find
to lose one's way
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to cause the loss of
his delay lost him the battle
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to allow to go astray or out of sight
we lost him in the crowd
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(usually passive) to absorb or engross
he was lost in contemplation
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(usually passive) to cause the death or destruction of
two men were lost in the attack
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to outdistance or elude
he soon lost his pursuers
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(intr) to decrease or depreciate in value or effectiveness
poetry always loses in translation
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(also intr) (of a timepiece) to run slow (by a specified amount)
the clock loses ten minutes every day
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(of a physician) to fail to sustain the life of (a patient)
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(of a woman) to fail to give birth to (a viable baby), esp as the result of a miscarriage
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slang motor racing to lose control of (the car), as on a bend
he lost it going into Woodcote
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slang to lose control of oneself or one's temper
Usage
What's the difference between lose and loose? Lose is a verb most commonly meaning to fail to win or to misplace something, as in I hate to lose in chess or Don’t lose your key. Loose is most commonly used as an adjective meaning not tight or free or released from fastening, attachment, or restraint, as in a loose screw or Let him loose! Lose ends with a z sound and rhymes with choose. Loose ends with an s sound and rhymes with moose. One reason that the two words are sometimes confused is that loose can also be used as a verb, most commonly meaning to free something from a restraint, as in loose the cannons! Perhaps the most common misuse of these words is when loose is used when lose should be. To remember the difference, remember this sentence: You could lose loose screws. (First comes the verb lose, with one o, followed by the adjective loose, with two o’s). Here’s an example of lose and loose used correctly in a sentence. Example: If you carry around loose cash, you could lose it—put it in your wallet. Want to learn more? Read the full breakdown of the difference between lose and loose.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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losesimple
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losessimple
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have lostperfect
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has lostperfect
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am losingprogressive
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are losingprogressive
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is losingprogressive
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have been losingperfect progressive
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has been losingperfect progressive
Past
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lostsimple
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had lostperfect
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was losingprogressive
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were losingprogressive
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had been losingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of lose
First recorded in 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
Explanation
The verb to lose means something has gone missing. Maybe it's your car keys. Maybe it's points in a game. Maybe it's the love of your life. Sorry about that. You can physically lose something by misplacing it, or you can lose your pride in a competition. You can lose a game, you can lose your library book, you can lose money, you can lose your business, you can lose sight of your child, you can even lose your mind — basically, you can lose just about anything. Losing something is usually not a good thing, unless it's that annoying boyfriend or weight.
Vocabulary lists containing lose
Commonly Confused Words, List 1
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Commonly Confused Words, List 4
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Commonly Confused Words, List 6
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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.
See Examples For:
Manchester United: Disappointing performances to lose at Hull and draw at a Fulham side who were bottom of the league.
From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026
And the coach who left was about to lose to the quarterback who stayed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026
Some people are AnWj negative because of inherited MAL changes, while others can lose AnWj expression because of disease and develop an antibody against a marker their cells previously carried.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 19, 2026
Abraham and Szor may lose their place as Israeli citizens.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
“You say we could lose our lives for this child. I would consider that the greatest honor that could come to my family.”
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
The problem can be compared with a clock that loses one minute every day.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026
She said there did not seem to be any solution, so she just loses pay.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
"The individual loses out, the family is torn apart, and society pays the price for this," he told AFP.
From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026
Netflix will stream all 371 episodes of the ‘Walking Dead’ universe worldwide under a five-year, $500-million deal — but it loses its U.S. exclusive.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
A man pushes in front of him, another woman blocks his way to the side, and he loses sight of the girl completely.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
A 20-year-old man who lost control of his car and crashed head-on into another driver has been jailed.
From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026
After consecutive 11-win seasons under Jim Harbaugh — who’d never lost to the Raiders and never previously lost two consecutive games to start a season — the Chargers might blink and find themselves 0-7.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026
SHANGHAI—When Jane Ding’s son headed on his first field trip in kindergarten, she was worried he would get lost.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026
Both global environmental commitments and Brazilian federal and state policies include major efforts to bring forests back to areas where they have been lost.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 21, 2026
Everyone's fears were confirmed now: he had lost his senses, no doubt about it.
From "Adventures of Don Quixote" by Argentina Palacios
With Bellamy losing two key assistants just weeks after it seemed the Wales boss himself would walk away from the job amid interest from Burnley, Williams' arrival was something of a surprise.
From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026
Harbaugh, who has never posted a losing season as an NFL coach, doesn’t have much time to figure it all out.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026
A recent Los Angeles County economic report predicted the merger could lead to an estimated 4,500 workers in the Los Angeles region losing their jobs as Ellison works to combine the two companies.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026
The question is whether the industry can hang on that long, after losing more than half its workforce between 2003-04 and 2020-21, according to University of Florida studies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026
Ignoring the aching feeling that I’m losing my best friends, I leave Lily with Camille and stride confidently out the front door.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
