Word forms: 3rd person singular presenttense loses, present participle losing, past tense, past participle lost
1. verb
If you lose a contest, a fight, or an argument, you do not succeed because someone does better than you and defeats you.
They lost the Italian Cup Final. [VERB noun]
The government lost the argument over the pace of reform. [VERB noun]
The Vietnam conflict ultimately was lost. [VERB noun]
No one likes to be on the losing side. [VERB-ing]
Synonyms: be defeated, be beaten, lose out, be worsted More Synonyms of lose
2. verb
If you lose something, you do not know where it is, for example because you have forgotten where you put it.
I lost my keys. [VERB noun]
I had to go back for my checkup; they'd lost my X-rays. [VERB noun]
Synonyms: mislay, miss, drop, forget More Synonyms of lose
3. verb
You say that you lose something when you no longer have it because it has been taken away from you or destroyed.
I lost my job when the company moved to another state. [VERB noun]
He lost his licence for six months. [VERB noun]
She was terrified they'd lose their home. [VERB noun]
Synonyms: forfeit, miss, fail, yield More Synonyms of lose
4. verb
If someone loses a quality, characteristic, attitude, or belief, they no longer have it.
He lost all sense of reason. [VERB noun]
The government had lost all credibility. [VERB noun]
He had lost his desire to live. [VERB noun]
5. verb
If you lose an ability, you stop having that ability because of something such as an accident.
They lost their ability to hear. [VERB noun]
He had lost the use of his legs. [VERB noun]
6. verb
If someone or something loses heat, their temperature becomes lower.
Babies lose heat much faster than adults. [VERB noun]
A lot of body heat is lost through the scalp. [VERB noun]
7. verb
If you lose blood or fluid from your body, it leaves your body so that you have less of it.
The victim suffered a dreadful injury and lost a lot of blood. [VERB noun]
During fever a large quantity of fluid is lost in perspiration. [VERB noun]
8. verb
If you lose weight, you become less heavy, and usually look thinner.
I have lost a lot of weight. [VERB noun]
Martha was able to lose 25 pounds. [VERB noun]
9. verb
If you lose a part of your body, it is cut off in an operation or in an accident.
He lost a foot when he was struck by a train. [VERB noun]
10. verb
If someone loses their life, they die.
...the ferry disaster in 1987, in which 192 people lost their lives. [VERB noun]
Hundreds of lives were lost in fighting. [beVERB-ed]
11. verb
If you lose a close relative or friend, they die.
My Grandma lost her brother in the war. [VERB noun]
12. verb [usually passive]
If things are lost, they are destroyed in a disaster.
...the famous Nankin pottery that was lost in a shipwreck off the coast of China. [beVERB-ed]
13. verb
If you lose time, something slows you down so that you do not make as much progress as you hoped.
They claim that police lost valuable time in the early part of the investigation. [VERB noun]
Six hours were lost in all. [beVERB-ed]
14. verb
If you lose an opportunity, you do not take advantage of it.
If you don't do it soon you're going to lose the opportunity. [VERB noun]
They did not lose the opportunity to say what they thought of events. [VERB noun to-infinitive]
...a lost opportunity. [VERB-ed]
15. verb
If you loseyourself in something or if you are lostin it, you give a lot of attention to it and do not think about anything else.
Michael held on to her arm, losing himself in the music. [V pron-refl + in]
He was lost in the contemplation of the landscape. [beVERB-ed + in]
16. verb
If a business loses money, it earns less money than it spends, and is therefore in debt.
[business]
His shops stand to lose millions of pounds. [VERB noun]
$1 billion a year may be lost. [VERB noun]
Synonyms: waste, consume, squander, drain More Synonyms of lose
17. verb
If something loses you a contest or loses you something that you had, it causes you to fail or to no longer have what you had.
My own stupidity lost me the match. [VERB noun noun]
His economic mismanagement has lost him the support of the general public. [VERB noun noun]
18. See also lost
19.
See have nothing to lose/much to lose
20.
See lose it
21.
See lose it
22.
See lose no opportunity
23.
See lose no time
24.
See lose one's way
25.
See lose one's way
26. to lose your balance
27. to lose the battle but win the war
28. to lose contact
29. to lose your cool
30. to lose face
31. to lose your grip
32. to lose your head
33. to lose heart
34. to lose your mind
35. to lose your nerve
36. to lose the plot
37. to lose sight of
38. to lose your temper
39. to lose touch
40. to lose track of
Phrasal verbs:
See lose out
More Synonyms of lose
lose in British English
(luːz)
verbWord forms: loses, losing or lost(mainly tr)
1.
to part with or come to be without, as through theft, accident, negligence, etc
2.
to fail to keep or maintain
to lose one's balance
3.
to suffer the loss or deprivation of
to lose a parent
4.
to cease to have or possess
5.
to fail to get or make use of
to lose a chance
6. (also intr)
to fail to gain or win (a contest, game, etc)
to lose the match
7.
to fail to see, hear, perceive, or understand
I lost the gist of his speech
8.
to waste
to lose money gambling
9.
to wander from so as to be unable to find
to lose one's way
10.
to cause the loss of
their delay lost them the battle
11.
to allow to go astray or out of sight
we lost him in the crowd
12. (usually passive)
to absorb or engross
she was lost in contemplation
13. (usually passive)
to cause the death or destruction of
two civilians were lost in the attack
14.
to outdistance or elude
he soon lost his pursuers
15. (intransitive)
to decrease or depreciate in value or effectiveness
poetry always loses in translation
16. (also intr)
(of a timepiece) to run slow (by a specified amount)
the clock loses ten minutes every day
17.
(of a physician) to fail to sustain the life of (a patient)
18.
(of a woman) to fail to give birth to (a viable baby), esp as the result of a miscarriage
19. motor racing slang
to lose control of (the car), as on a bend
he lost it going into Woodcote
20. lose it
Derived forms
losable (ˈlosable)
adjective
losableness (ˈlosableness)
noun
Word origin
Old English losian to perish; related to Old English -lēosan as in forlēosan to forfeit. Compare loose
lose in American English
(luz)
verb transitiveWord forms: lost or ˈlosing
1.
a.
to bring to ruin or destruction
a ship lost in the storm
b. Theology
to incur the damnation of
to lose one's soul
2.
to become unable to find; mislay
to lose one's keys
3.
a.
to have taken from one by negligence, accident, death, removal, separation, etc.; suffer the loss of; be deprived of
b.
to suffer the miscarriage or stillbirth of (a baby)
4.
to get rid of (something undesirable)
to lose unwanted weight
5.
to fail to keep or maintain
to lose one's temper, to lose speed
6.
a.
to fail to see, hear, or understand
she did not lose a word of his speech
b.
to fail to keep in sight, mind, or existence
7.
to fail to have, get, take advantage of, etc.; miss
to lose one's chance
8.
to fail to win or gain
to lose a game
9.
to cause the loss of
it lost him his job
10.
to cause to go astray, become bewildered, etc.
11.
to wander from and not be able to find (one's way, the right track, etc.)
12.
to fail or be unable to make proper use of; waste
to lose time
13.
to leave behind; outdistance
14.
to engross or preoccupy
usually in the passive
to be lost in reverie
15.
to go slower by
a watch that loses two minutes a day
verb intransitive
16.
to undergo or suffer loss
17.
to be defeated in a contest, etc.
18.
to be slow
said of a clock, etc.
Idioms:
lose it
lose oneself
lose out
lose out on
Derived forms
losable (ˈlosable)
adjective
Word origin
ME losen, lesen, merging OE losian, to lose, be lost (< los, loss) + leosan, to lose, akin to OHG (vir)liosan, Goth (fra)liusan < IE base *leu-, to cut off, separate > Gr lyein, to dissolve; L luere, to loose, release (from debt)
More idioms containing
lose
lose your heart to someone
lose heart
lose your head
lose ground
lose your grip
lose face
lose your edge
lose your cool
lose the plot
lose your rag
lose your shirt
lose sight of something
not lose any sleep over something
lose it
lose track of someone or something
lose your marbles
Examples of 'lose' in a sentence
lose
It is clearly spiralling and she is losing any ability to rationalise how she feels.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
No one loses money provided they exchange their notes at their local bank.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
We lose one goal and we look unlikely to get back into games.
The Sun (2016)
She lost a lot of people that night.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
He was knocked out and lost the ability to speak.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
My thoughts are with the families who have lost their loved ones.
The Sun (2016)
Our home is so well sealed, we hardly lose any heat.
The Sun (2016)
Let's not lose it by failing to say how much that freedom matters.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
There's nobody better at losing money there than we are.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Use blinds Made of two layers trapping air pockets, honeycomb blinds can almost halve the heat lost through windows.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
You lose the ability to improve fast.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
We were losing so much heat and energy and spending a fortune trying to keep warm.
The Sun (2014)
We have lost out a lot of times.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Yet they lost and failed to score.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
To lose that ability to pursue would be very damaging.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Fifty per cent of your body heat lost through the top of your head?
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
They said he had lost a lot of weight.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
They came as a fancied side but have lost twice and failed to score.
The Sun (2016)
The president lost the ability to govern a while ago.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
But subtle messages get lost in the heat of an election campaign.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Some say we will lose a lot of expertise.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Many of us have tried to lose weight and failed miserably for one reason or another.
Stewart, Dr Alan & Stewart, Maryon The Vitality Diet (1990)
Body heat is mostly lost through sweat but this depends on the area of skin.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
If they have stopped doing it then they will have lost a lot of time.
The Sun (2010)
Both his marriages failed and he lost his antiques shop after not paying his tax.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
But members may ask why they are urged to strike and lose money while their leader coins it.
The Sun (2012)
This is because energy groups would lose money supplying households that are low users but who do not pay a standing charge.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
More to the point, no one from the losing side sought to complain.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
Have you recently lost more than one stone in a three-month period?
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
The home-grown attitude is that football is a good way to lose money.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
Barely a family she knows hasn't lost a loved one in some random attack.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Although we lost one, the opponent only had one shot on goal.
The Sun (2010)
They lose the ability to walk and talk, and will need to be fed by tubes.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
THERE are many ways to find you have lost money without it being your fault.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
Quotations
You cannot lose what you never had
In other languages
lose
British English: lose /luːz/ VERB
be deprived of If you lose something, you do not have it anymore because someone has taken it away from you.
I lost my job when the company shut down.
American English: lose
Arabic: يَخْسَرُ
Brazilian Portuguese: perder
Chinese: 输
Croatian: izgubiti
Czech: ztratit
Danish: tabe
Dutch: verliezen
European Spanish: perder objeto
Finnish: menettää
French: perdre
German: verlieren
Greek: χάνω
Italian: perdere
Japanese: なくす
Korean: (...을) 잃어버리다
Norwegian: miste
Polish: stracić
European Portuguese: perder
Romanian: a pierde
Russian: потерять
Latin American Spanish: perder
Swedish: förlora
Thai: สูญเสีย
Turkish: kaybetmek
Ukrainian: втрачати
Vietnamese: mất thất lạc
British English: lose /luːz/ VERB
game If you lose a game, you do not win it.
Our team lost the match by one point.
No one likes to lose.
American English: lose
Arabic: يَخْسَرُ
Brazilian Portuguese: perder
Chinese: 输
Croatian: izgubiti
Czech: prohrát
Danish: tabe
Dutch: verliezen
European Spanish: perder partido
Finnish: kadota
French: perdre
German: verlieren
Greek: ηττώμαι
Italian: perdere
Japanese: 負ける
Korean: 패하다
Norwegian: miste
Polish: przegrać stracić
European Portuguese: perder
Romanian: a pierde
Russian: проиграть
Latin American Spanish: perder
Swedish: förlora
Thai: พ่ายแพ้
Turkish: kaybolmak
Ukrainian: програвати
Vietnamese: thua
British English: lose /luːz/ VERB
misplace If you lose something, you do not know where it is.
I've lost my keys.
American English: lose
Arabic: يُضَيِّعُ
Brazilian Portuguese: perder
Chinese: 丢失
Croatian: izgubiti
Czech: ztratit
Danish: tabe
Dutch: verliezen
European Spanish: perder
Finnish: hukata
French: perdre
German: verlieren
Greek: χάνω
Italian: perdere
Japanese: ･･･をなくす
Korean: 잃어버리다
Norwegian: miste
Polish: zgubić
European Portuguese: perder
Romanian: a rătăci
Russian: потерять
Latin American Spanish: perder
Swedish: tappa
Thai: ทำหาย
Turkish: kaybetmek
Ukrainian: губити
Vietnamese: đánh mất
Definition of 'lose'
Chinese translation of 'lose'
lose
(luːz)
Word forms:ptpplost
vt
(= mislay)[keys, pen etc]丢(丟)失 (diūshī)
⇒ I lost my keys.我把钥匙丢了。 (Wǒ bǎ yàoshi diū le.)
(= not win)[contest, fight, argument]输(輸) (shū)
(= be dismissed from)[job, place]丢(丟)掉 (diūdiào)
⇒ He lost his place in the team.他丢掉了在队里的位置。 (Tā diūdiàole zài duìli de wèizhì.)
(through death)[relative, wife etc]失去 (shīqù)
⇒ He had just lost his wife.他刚刚失去了妻子。 (Tā gānggāng shīqùle qīzi.)
(= waste)[time, opportunity]浪费(費) (làngfèi)
(Comm)[money]亏(虧)损(損) (kuīsǔn)
⇒ The company was losing a million pounds a week.该公司一个星期亏损100万英镑。 (Gāi gōngsī yī gè xīngqī kuīsǔn yībǎi wàn yīngbàng.)
(through injury, disease)
[blood, tooth, leg]失掉 (shīdiào)
[voice, sight etc]丧(喪)失 (sàngshī)
(= run out of)[confidence, control etc]丧(喪)失 (sàngshī)
(= shake off)[pursuers]摆(擺)脱(脫) (bǎituō)
⇒ He managed to lose his pursuers in the maze of streets.在繁杂的街道上，他竭力摆脱了跟踪者。 (Zài fánzá de jiēdào shang, tā jiélì bǎituōle gēnzōngzhě.)
vi
(in competition, argument) 输(輸) (shū)
to lose o.s. in sth沉湎于(於)某事 (chénmiǎn yú mǒushì)
to lose weight减(減)重 (jiǎnzhòng)
to lose no time in doing sth马(馬)上着(著)手做某事 (mǎshàng zhuóshǒu zuò mǒushì)
⇒ Bill lost no time in telling me about his idea.比尔赶紧和我讲他的想法。 (Bǐ'ěr gǎnjǐn hé wǒ jiǎng tā de xiǎngfǎ.)
to lose sight of sth (= no longer see) 看不见(見)某物 (kàn bù jiàn mǒuwù) (= forget) 忽略某事 (hūlüè mǒushì)