lose
Americanverb (used with object)
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loses,
present (3rd person singular)
-
lost,
past participle, past
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losing
present participle
-
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)
-
lost,
past participle, past
-
losing
present participle
-
to suffer loss.
to lose on a contract.
-
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.
-
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
-
to fail to keep or maintain
to lose one's balance
-
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
-
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
-
to cause the loss of
his delay lost him the battle
-
to allow to go astray or out of sight
we lost him in the crowd
-
(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:
The cattle shortage is causing meatpackers to lose billions of dollars and close processing plants, permanently lowering U.S. capacity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 10, 2026
But that does not mean people won’t retire early through no fault of their own or lose their jobs due to AI.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 10, 2026
So these Chargers would make history should they lose their final eight games.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 9, 2026
Starting from pole, Norris was relatively slow away, at least compared with the Italian, and Antonelli blasted into a lead that for a while looked as if he would not lose.
From BBC ● Nov. 8, 2026
"Because I love her. I don't want to lose her."
From "Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher" by Bruce Coville
Jake Paul has said he will retire from boxing if he loses to MMA star Cedric Doumbe on 24 December in Dubai.
From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026
If your portfolio loses $200,000 in one year and you withdraw another $154,000, your IRA balance would fall to around $2.25 million.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 4, 2026
Plus, Kylian Mbappé loses major sponsorships in China after laughing at a meme.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026
And while training together for the big summit push by climbing a lower peak in Nepal in 2022, Nelson loses her footing in an avalanche the size of a small snow drift.
From Salon ● Nov. 1, 2026
I said, “What if Vonetta loses the money we save?”
From "P.S. Be Eleven" by Rita Williams-Garcia
The broad S&P 500 lost 29.01 points, or 0.38%, to 7520.93 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped 187.26 points, or 0.74%, to 25065.87.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 10, 2026
That’s not to say Big Tech lost everywhere.
From Slate ● Nov. 10, 2026
An 8-year-old Haitian boy who lost protected status earlier this year was placed in federal custody after an immigration check-in last week in San Diego, according to federal and school district officials.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 10, 2026
That’s saying something, since the company lost around than $350 billion of market cap Monday in the wake of this weekend’s revelations about Huang’s affair.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 10, 2026
He only knew that clan guardians watch over campsites, and that ghosts moan in leafless trees on stormy nights,’ forever seeking the clans they have lost.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
At Spurs, he moulded their best team in a generation, but ultimately came up short of winning a trophy, losing both the Champions League and League Cup finals, and posted second and third-placed finishes.
From BBC ● Nov. 10, 2026
And he nearly brought home San Francisco’s first Lombardi Trophy since the Steve Young days before ultimately losing in overtime to the Kansas City Chiefs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 9, 2026
The Cybertruck certainly provided some sizzle in 2019 when Tesla’s stock price was sliding and Musk appeared to be losing some of his ability to dominate the conversation inside and outside the auto industry.
From Slate ● Nov. 9, 2026
The fear is that without these central figures, companies risk losing the essence of their success.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 9, 2026
“I can’t imagine losing one of my kids, much less both of them at the same time. I wonder how his wife is taking it.”
From "Earthquake Terror" by Peg Kehret
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
