lose out
Britishverb
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(intr, adverb) to be defeated or unsuccessful
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to fail to secure or make use of
we lost out on the sale
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Fail to succeed, be defeated, as in The election's over, and you've lost out . [Mid-1800s]
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Also, . Miss an opportunity to participate, as in We came so late that we lost out on our chance to see her dance , or The Republicans lost out in last fall's elections . [ Colloquial ; mid-1900s] Also see miss out on .
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.
If you believe we need more housing, and it takes that much longer to build housing, then people lose out.
From Salon ● Sep. 30, 2026
So when that time is not promised at school, they might lose out on cognitive, social, physical, and community benefits.
From Slate ● Sep. 5, 2026
Not only would you be losing half of your balance by taking this money out to purchase the house, but you’d also lose out on potential returns.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 3, 2026
Some residents and city officials in Tuskegee fear that if Figures loses under a new map, then they will lose out too.
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
We didn’t want to lose out to the Italians or even that one Bulgarian.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
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.
