lose

[looz]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR lose ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), lost, los·ing.

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.

to fail inadvertently to retain (something) in such a way that it cannot be immediately recovered: I just lost a dime under this sofa.

to suffer the deprivation of: to lose one's job; to lose one's life.

to be bereaved of by death: to lose a sister.

to fail to keep, preserve, or maintain: to lose one's balance; to lose one's figure.

(of a clock or watch) to run slower by: The watch loses three minutes a day.

to give up; forfeit the possession of: to lose a fortune at the gaming table.

to get rid of: to lose one's fear of the dark; to lose weight; She needs to lose those bangs!

to bring to destruction or ruin (usually used passively): Ship and crew were lost.

to condemn to hell; damn.

to have slip from sight, hearing, attention, etc.: to lose him in the crowd.

to stray from or become ignorant of (one's way, directions, etc.): to lose one's bearings.

to leave far behind in a pursuit, race, etc.; outstrip: She managed to lose the other runners on the final lap of the race.

to use to no purpose; waste: to lose time in waiting.

to fail to have, get, catch, etc.; miss: to lose a bargain.

to fail to win (a prize, stake, etc.): to lose a bet.

to be defeated in (a game, lawsuit, battle, etc.): He has lost very few cases in his career as a lawyer.

to cause the loss of: The delay lost the battle for them.

to let (oneself) go astray, miss the way, etc.: We lost ourselves in the woods.

to allow (oneself) to become absorbed or engrossed in something and oblivious to all else: I had lost myself in thought.

(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.”

(of a woman) to fail to be delivered of (a live baby) because of miscarriage, complications in childbirth, etc.

verb (used without object), lost, los·ing.

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.

to depreciate in effectiveness or in some other essential quality: a classic that loses in translation.

(of a clock, watch, etc.) to run slow.

Verb Phrases

lose out, to suffer defeat or loss; fail to obtain something desired: He got through the preliminaries, but lost out in the finals.

Nearby words

Idioms

lose face. face(def 51).

lose it, Informal. to suddenly lose control of one's emotions: When he said he loved me, I nearly lost it.

Origin of lose

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

Related formsre·lose, verb (used with object), re·lost, re·los·ing.

Can be confusedloose loosen lose loss

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for loses

But he loses his backpack in the process and it stays with the cops as he flees down the walkway toward Brooklyn.
Protesters Slimed This Good Samaritan Cop|Michael Daly|December 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Lady eventually does engage in a street fight, and loses, which surprises and horrifies Mariame and the gang.
‘Girlhood’: Coming of Age in France’s Projects|Molly Hannon|November 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She loses them briefly in a department store, but finds them a few moments later, and the incident is never mentioned again.
Colm Toibin Describes The Creation Of His Quiet Masterpiece ‘Nora Webster’|Jennie Yabroff|November 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
If Assad falls and a new government is formed by Sunni rebel forces, Iran loses a keystone in its regional power structure.
How Iran Could Become Our Shadow Enemy in the Syria ISIS War|Jacob Siegel|September 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST

At the last minute, she tries to talk his captors down on the price—and loses her boy instead.
Brecht's Mercenary Mother Courage Turns 75|Katie Baker|September 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Pen needn't grumble if it loses a little of its colour in the voyage.
The English at the North Pole|Jules Verne
Moreover, the child who sees clearly only a few feet away from him loses a very important part of his education.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 648, June 2, 1888.|Various
If a man commit no follies he loses his wits through weariness.
The Romance of Leonardo da Vinci|Dmitry Sergeyevich Merezhkovsky
Not so with the Samaritan; he loses all thought of himself, and is perfectly oblivious to the danger he himself may be running.
Expositor's Bible: The Gospel of St Luke|Henry Burton
He loses heart before he begins anything and he has given up business.
The Joy of Captain Ribot|Armando Palacio Valds

British Dictionary definitions for loses

lose

verb loses, losing or lost (mainly tr)

to part with or come to be without, as through theft, accident, negligence, etc

to fail to keep or maintainto lose one's balance

to suffer the loss or deprivation ofto lose a parent

to cease to have or possess

to fail to get or make use ofto lose a chance

(also intr) to fail to gain or win (a contest, game, etc)to lose the match

to fail to see, hear, perceive, or understandI lost the gist of his speech

to wasteto lose money gambling

to wander from so as to be unable to findto lose one's way

to cause the loss ofhis delay lost him the battle

to allow to go astray or out of sightwe lost him in the crowd

(usually passive) to absorb or engrosshe was lost in contemplation

(usually passive) to cause the death or destruction oftwo men were lost in the attack

to outdistance or eludehe soon lost his pursuers

(intr) to decrease or depreciate in value or effectivenesspoetry always loses in translation

(also intr) (of a timepiece) to run slow (by a specified amount)the clock loses ten minutes every day

(of a physician) to fail to sustain the life of (a patient)

(of a woman) to fail to give birth to (a viable baby), esp as the result of a miscarriage

motor racing slang to lose control of (the car), as on a bendhe lost it going into Woodcote

lose it slang to lose control of oneself or one's temper

Derived Formslosable, adjectivelosableness, noun

Word Origin for lose

Old English losian to perish; related to Old English -lēosan as in forlēosan to forfeit. Compare loose

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

Word Origin and History for loses

lose

Old English losian "be lost, perish," from los "destruction, loss," from Proto-Germanic *lausa- (cf. Old Norse los "the breaking up of an army;" Old English forleosan "to lose, destroy," Old Frisian forliasa, Old Saxon farliosan, Middle Dutch verliesen, Old High German firliosan, German verlieren), from PIE root *leu- "to loosen, divide, cut apart, untie, separate" (cf. Sanskrit lunati "cuts, cuts off," lavitram "sickle;" Greek lyein "to loosen, untie, slacken," lysus "a loosening;" Latin luere "to loose, release, atone for, expiate").

Replaced related leosan (a class II strong verb whose past participle loren survives in forlorn and lovelorn), from Proto-Germanic *leusanan (cf. Old High German virliosan, German verlieren, Old Frisian urliasa, Gothic fraliusan "to lose").

Transitive sense of "to part with accidentally" is from c.1200. Meaning "fail to maintain" is from mid-15c. Meaning "to be defeated" (in a game, etc.) is from 1530s. Meaning "to cause (someone) to lose his way" is from 1640s. To lose (one's) mind "become insane" is attested from c.1500. To lose out "fail" is 1858, American English. Related: Lost; losing.

Idioms and Phrases with loses

lose

In addition to the idioms beginning with lose

lose face
lose ground
lose heart
lose it
lose no time
lose one's bearings
lose one's buttons
lose one's cool
lose oneself in
lose one's grip
lose one's head
lose one's hear to
lose one's lunch
lose one's marbles
lose one's mind
lose one's nerve
lose one's shirt
lose one's temper
lose one's touch
lose out
lose sight of
lose sleep over
lose the thread
lose time
lose touch
lose track

also see:

get (lose) one's bearings
keep (lose) one's cool
keep (lose) track
win some, lose some

Also see underlosinglost.

lose

verb (used with object), lost, los·ing.

verb (used without object), lost, los·ing.

Verb Phrases

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Nearby words

Idioms

Origin of lose

Examples from the Web for loses

lose

verb loses, losing or lost (mainly tr)

Word Origin for lose

lose

lose