loss

American  

[laws, los] / lɔs, lɒs /

noun

• losses
  plural

1. detriment, disadvantage, or deprivation from failure to keep, have, or get.

   to bear the loss of a robbery.

   Antonyms:

   gain

2. something that is lost.

   The painting was the greatest loss from the robbery.

3. an amount or number lost.

   The loss of life increased each day.

4. the state of being deprived of or of being without something that one has had.

   the loss of old friends.

   Synonyms:

   deprivation, privation

5. death, or the fact of being dead.

   to mourn the loss of a grandparent.

6. the accidental or inadvertent losing of something dropped, misplaced, stolen, etc..

   to discover the loss of a document.

7. a losing by defeat; failure to win.

   the loss of a bet.

8. failure to make good use of something, as time; waste.

9. failure to preserve or maintain.

   loss of engine speed at high altitudes.

10. destruction or ruin.

    the loss of a ship by fire.

11. a thing or a number of related things that are lost or destroyed to some extent.

    Most buildings in the burned district were a total loss.

12. Military.

    1. the losing of soldiers by death, capture, etc.

    2. Often losses. the number of soldiers so lost.

13. Insurance. occurrence of an event, as death or damage of property, for which the insurer makes indemnity under the terms of a policy.

14. Electricity. a measure of the power lost in a system, as by conversion to heat, expressed as a relation between power input and power output, as the ratio of or difference between the two quantities.

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idioms

1. at a loss,

   1. at less than cost; at a financial loss.

   2. in a state of bewilderment or uncertainty; puzzled; perplexed.

      We are completely at a loss for an answer to the problem.

loss British  

/ lɒs /

noun

1. the act or an instance of losing

2. the disadvantage or deprivation resulting from losing

   a loss of reputation

3. the person, thing, or amount lost

   a large loss

4. (plural) military personnel lost by death or capture

5. (sometimes plural) the amount by which the costs of a business transaction or operation exceed its revenue

6. a measure of the power lost in an electrical system expressed as the ratio of or difference between the input power and the output power

7. insurance

   1. an occurrence of something that has been insured against, thus giving rise to a claim by a policyholder

   2. the amount of the resulting claim

8. 1. uncertain what to do; bewildered

   2. rendered helpless (for lack of something)

      at a loss for words

   3. at less than the cost of buying, producing, or maintaining (something)

      the business ran at a loss for several years

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loss More Idioms  

1. see at a loss; cut one's losses; dead loss.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• preloss
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• losses
  plural

Etymology

Origin of loss

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English los “destruction”; cognate with Old Norse los “looseness, breakup”; cf. lose ( def. ), loose ( def. ), -less ( def. ), lorn ( def. )

Explanation

If you no longer have something, you experience a loss, like the loss of a favorite sock. When something lessens, or gets smaller, that's also a loss, as in weight loss. Loss has lots of opposites that help define what it means. It is the opposite of win, gain, found, or earn. You can take a loss in a game or a race or by misplacing or just plain losing something like a cell phone or money. When a business has more expenses than it can cover in sales, that, too, is called a loss. A difficult loss is when a friend, relative, or pet dies.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

loss losses

Still-living Marine veterans of World War II share their memories of recruitment, comradeship, combat and loss.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

Halley said he was also motivated by the ongoing production crisis in L.A. and the continued loss of industry jobs.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026

Count the exits: Sell stocks, and you’ve locked the loss at the bottom.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 27, 2026

Mostly, though, the film is oblique commentary on the kinds of issues the columnists are always writing about—a perceived loss of societal trust, demonization of out-groups, and increased geographical sorting by ideology.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

At a loss for words, he just nodded while Glory tried to rein in Orion.

From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova

Impacts on crops are widespread, ranging from modest declines in yields to severe harvest losses with crop failures likely in the worst-affected regions.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

In 2022, Powell shocked investors with a blunt Jackson Hole speech that warned of potential job losses and economic pain as the central bank looked to intensify its battle against inflation.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 27, 2026

Californian wines have borne the brunt of the tit-for-tat — and now these local, often family-owned businesses expect further losses, said Julie Berge, vice president of communications at Wine Institute, which represents California wineries.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026

European and domestic losses got the 2026-27 campaign off to a whimper but Vrancken stayed calm and believes his team are now reaping deserved benefits.

From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026

In June 1940, France, having suffered devastating losses in battle, signed an armistice that allowed the German army to occupy much of Northern and Western France.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Related Words

• accident
• casualty
• catastrophe
• cost
• damage
• debt
• defeat
• deficit
• destruction
• disaster
• failure
• fall
• injury
• markdown
• trouble