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.
"Specifically billions for our exporters -- everyone will earn, Ukraine will earn, we won't lose out."
From Barron's • Mar. 28, 2026
Dimon has been skeptical of the private-credit boom but also allowed the bank to wade deeper into it to ensure it didn’t lose out on fees and deals from big private-equity clients.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 24, 2026
"Fifa point to their unconfirmed sales figures as validation of their unfair ticket practices, while the reality is they leave loyal fans with no other choice - pay up or lose out," Evain said.
From BBC • Mar. 24, 2026
If so, Super Micro could lose out on its supply of Nvidia graphics processing units, “which in turn could have devastating impact” on the server maker, Newman wrote.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 20, 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.
