loss

[ laws, los ]

/ lɔs, lɒs /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR loss ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

detriment, disadvantage, or deprivation from failure to keep, have, or get: to bear the loss of a robbery.

something that is lost: The painting was the greatest loss from the robbery.

an amount or number lost: The loss of life increased each day.

the state of being deprived of or of being without something that one has had: the loss of old friends.

death, or the fact of being dead: to mourn the loss of a grandparent.

the accidental or inadvertent losing of something dropped, misplaced, stolen, etc.: to discover the loss of a document.

a losing by defeat; failure to win: the loss of a bet.

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

failure to preserve or maintain: loss of engine speed at high altitudes.

destruction or ruin: the loss of a ship by fire.

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.

Military.

the losing of soldiers by death, capture, etc.
Often losses. the number of soldiers so lost.

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

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.

QUIZZES

CHALLENGE YOURSELF WITH THESE WORDS FROM "LITTLE WOMEN"

"Little Women" may be a classic, but that doesn't mean we all know the meanings of the vocab words from the book. Can you define these words correctly and make Jo proud?

Question 1 of 10

earnest

full seriousness, as of intention or purpose.

a feeling of dread, anxiety, or anguish.

urgent character; imperativeness; insistence; importunateness.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Idioms for loss

at a loss,

at less than cost; at a financial loss.
in a state of bewilderment or uncertainty; puzzled; perplexed: We are completely at a loss for an answer to the problem.

Origin of loss

before 900; Middle English; Old English los destruction; cognate with Old Norse los looseness, breaking up. See lose, loose

SYNONYMS FOR loss

4 privation, deprivation.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR loss ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR loss

1 gain.

SEE ANTONYMS FOR loss ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM loss

pre·loss, noun

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH loss

loose loosen lose loss

Words nearby loss

losing battle, a, losing hazard, losingest, losings, loslyf, loss, loss adjuster, loss function, loss leader, loss ratio, lossless

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for losses

So do losses, such as the widespread legalization of same-sex marriage.
The Christian Right’s New GOTV Motivator|Sarah Posner|November 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The rest of the losses came in Romney red states, plus purple North Carolina (where Sen. Kay Hagan lost by only 1.7 percent).
Obama: Lamest Duck Ever?|Jonathan Alter|November 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And my opinion is that each time we will see that, the losses will increase.
Vilified Bitcoin Tycoon After Losing $500 Million: My Life Is at Risk|Nathalie-Kyoko Stucky|September 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
After the losses that left virtually no American family untouched, the outcome of the war remained uncertain.
Atlanta’s Fall Foretold The End Of Civil War Bloodshed|Marc Wortman|September 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Their passion for turning their losses into service assured us the leap would be worth it.
Motherless Daughters and Parentless Parents Trek to the Andes to Aid Orphans|Allison Gilbert|August 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
No word yet about the losses except that they have been heavy.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I|Ian Hamilton
Yet when the ebb came, and men began to count their losses, there were but few to record.
Uppingham by the Sea|John Henry Skrine
Lola, it seems, resents highly any imputation upon her good name, and demands proof of her losses.
Harper's New Monthly Magazine, No. XXIV, May 1852, Vol. IV|Various
The losses suffered by the Germans were heavy not only during the battle, but on the preceding days.
Raemaekers' Cartoon History of the War, Volume 3|Louis Raemaekers
These prisoners also all agreed in setting down the Zulu losses on the 28th and 29th at 3000 men.
The Story of the Zulu Campaign|Waller Ashe

British Dictionary definitions for losses

loss

/ (lɒs) /

noun

the act or an instance of losing

the disadvantage or deprivation resulting from losinga loss of reputation

the person, thing, or amount losta large loss

(plural) military personnel lost by death or capture

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

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

insurance

an occurrence of something that has been insured against, thus giving rise to a claim by a policyholder
the amount of the resulting claim

at a loss

uncertain what to do; bewildered
rendered helpless (for lack of something)at a loss for words
at less than the cost of buying, producing, or maintaining (something)the business ran at a loss for several years

Word Origin for loss

C14: noun probably formed from lost, past participle of losen to perish, from Old English lōsian to be destroyed, from los destruction

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

Idioms and Phrases with losses

loss

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

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loss

noun

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noun

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MEANINGS

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WORD OF THE DAY

loss

noun

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CHALLENGE YOURSELF WITH THESE WORDS FROM "LITTLE WOMEN"

Idioms for loss

Origin of loss

SYNONYMS FOR loss

ANTONYMS FOR loss

OTHER WORDS FROM loss

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH loss

Words nearby loss

Words related to losses

Example sentences from the Web for losses

British Dictionary definitions for losses

noun

Word Origin for loss

Idioms and Phrases with losses