lossy

American

[law-see, los-ee] / ˈlɔ si, ˈlɒs i /

adjective

Electricity.

(of a material or transmission line) causing appreciable loss or dissipation of energy.

lossy British

/ ˈlɒsɪ /

adjective

(of a dielectric material, transmission line, etc) designed to have a high attenuation; dissipating energy Compare lossless

lossy line

"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

Etymology

Origin of lossy

First recorded in 1945–50; loss + -y ¹

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.

Lossy compression was also essential to the invention of something else introduced in 1992: the MP3, an audio file format made possible by discarding bits of data undetectable to the human ear.

From Slate • Oct. 14, 2019

Lossy audio occupies dramatically less space than lossless, and portable audio players hold only so many songs.

From Time • Oct. 3, 2012

Either you have never loved and been loved by a dog, or else you forget that the love lavished upon him by Lossy was all the affection which Leon had enjoyed for years.

From A Modern Wizard by Ottolengui, Rodrigues

With a glance filled with tender love for his protégé, he unlocked the door and passed out unobserved, leaving Leon with all that remained of the Marquis of Lossy.

From A Modern Wizard by Ottolengui, Rodrigues

Leon, my dear boy," said the Doctor, in tones expressive of the deepest sympathy, "let us see what we can do for Lossy.

From A Modern Wizard by Ottolengui, Rodrigues

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023