lose
verbUK /luːz/ · CA, US /luz/
Etymology From Middle English losen, from Old English losian. The modern pronunciation with /uː/ (instead of the /oʊ~əʊ/ that would be expected from Early Modern /ɔː/) is due to conflation with loose.
16 senses
- 1To cease to have (something) in one's possession or capability.
- 2To have (an organ) removed from one's body, especially…
- 3To shed (weight).
- 4To experience the death of (someone to whom one has an…
- 5To pay or owe (some wager) due from an unsuccessful bet…
- 6To be deprived of (some right or privileged access to something).
- 7To wander from; to miss, so as not to be able to find…
- 8To become a defeated competitor in (a game, competition…
- 9To be defeated (in a game, competition, contest, etc.)
- 10To be unable to follow or trace (somebody or something)…
- 11To cause (somebody) to be unable to follow or trace one…
- 12To cease exhibiting; to overcome (a behavior or emotion).
- 13To shed, remove, discard, or eliminate.
- 14Of a clock, to run slower than expected.
- 15To cause (someone) the loss of something; to deprive of.
- 16To fail to catch with the mind or senses; to miss.
1
To cease to have (something) in one's possession or capability.
- If you lose that ten-pound note, you'll be sorry.
- He lost his hearing in the explosion.
4 more examples
- She lost her position when the company was taken over.
- Meanwhile Nanny Broome was recovering from her initial panic and seemed anxious to make up for any kudos she might have lost, by exerting her personality to the utmost. She took the policeman's helmet and placed it on a chair, and unfolded his tunic to shake it and fold it up again for him.1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 19, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
- Douglas: I took some of the pension money out of the bank and I lost it on a horse. Nolan: Gambling with our employees' pensions? Douglas: Gambling? No. I was riding the horse. It fell out of my pocket.2008 November 21, Graham Linehan, The IT Crowd, Season 3, Episode 1
- Forest, who lost striker Kris Boyd to injury seconds before half-time, produced little after the break, with a Tyson sliced shot from 12 yards their only opportunity of note.2011 April 15, Saj Chowdhury, “Norwich 2-1 Nott'm Forest”, in BBC Sport:
2
To have (an organ) removed from one's body, especially by accident.
- Johnny lost a tooth, but kept it for the tooth fairy.
- He lost his spleen in a car wreck.
3
To shed (weight).
- I’ve lost five pounds this week.
4
To experience the death of (someone to whom one has an attachment, such as a relative or friend).
- She lost all her sons in the war.
- I hold it true, whate’er befall; I feel it, when I sorrow most; ’Tis better to have loved and lost Than never to have loved at all.1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto XXVII”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 44:
5
To pay or owe (some wager) due from an unsuccessful bet or gamble.
- Frank had lost $500 staying in Vegas.
6
To be deprived of (some right or privileged access to something).
- Users who engage in disruptive behavior may lose their accounts.
7
To wander from; to miss, so as not to be able to find; to go astray from.
- I lost my way in the forest.
- He hath lost his fellows.1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii]:
8
To become a defeated competitor in (a game, competition, trial, etc).
- We lost the football match.
- You just lost The Game.
2 more examples
- I fought the battle bravely which I lost, / And lost it but to Macedonians.1692, John Dryden, Cleomenes, the Spartan Hero, a Tragedy:
- Well, some news from overseas: according to a new report, Russia is now buying military supplies from North Korea. Yep, Russia's asking North Korea for help. Uh, tell us you're losing the war without telling us you're losing the war.2022 September 7, 5:25 from the start, in Trump Tried to Pay Lawyer with a Horse, Also Stole Material on Foreign Nation's Nuclear Capabilities (Comedy), spoken by Jimmy Fallon, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, archived from the original on 08 Sep 2022:
9
To be defeated (in a game, competition, contest, etc.)
- The team scored four goals but still managed to lose.
10
To be unable to follow or trace (somebody or something) any longer.
- The policeman lost the robber he was chasing.
- Mission control lost the satellite as its signal died down.
11
To cause (somebody) to be unable to follow or trace one any longer.
- lose the cops
- We managed to lose our pursuers in the forest.
12
To cease exhibiting; to overcome (a behavior or emotion).
- I can see Mickie getting hot, I'm about to grab his arm, hold him back, say, Whoa, whoa, Mick, not here, it ain't worth it what happened inside just now. But I don't need to because Mickie loses his anger, starts smiling at ponytail, then melodramatically starts looking around at the men and women on the street going in and out of the courthouse.2007, Ron Liebman, Death by Rodrigo, New York: Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, page 134:
- Her attitude was so bad my mother wound up telling her, “You know we really don't have to be standing here talking to you, so you can lose the attitude or you can leave.2012, Tracy Brooks, Dancing in the Rain, →ISBN, page 349:
13
Informal To shed, remove, discard, or eliminate.
- When we get into the building, please lose the hat.
- Lose that extra space on the left.
1 more example
- You can bet that the next woman who "loses" the top half of her bikini at the beach was born under the sign of Libra.1976, Martine, Sexual Astrology:
14
Of a clock, to run slower than expected.
- My watch loses five minutes a week.
- It's already 5:30? My watch must have lost a few minutes.
15
To cause (someone) the loss of something; to deprive of.
- O false heart! thou hadst almost betrayed me to eternal flames, and lost me this glory.1650, Richard Baxter, The Saints' Everlasting Rest:
- a. 1699, Sir William Temple, 1st Baronet, On the Excesses of Grief How should you go about to lose him a wife he loves with so much passion?
2 more examples
- Anyone who knew you were gay, especially if they were straight, had life-and-death power over you. That person could lose you your job, get you evicted, or have you generally hounded out of town.1986, Samuel R. Delany, Joseph Beam, “The Possibility of Possibilities”, in Joseph Beam, editor, In The Life: A Black Gay Anthology, page 186:
- This lost Catholicism […] any semblance of a claim to special status, and also highlighted the gains which other religious formations had derived from the Revolution.2002, Colin Jones, The Great Nation, Penguin, published 2003, page 556:
16
To fail to catch with the mind or senses; to miss.
- She moved out of hearing and I lost the end of the sentence.
- Synonyms
- leave behind, mislay, (fail to win: forfeit, (shed: drop, shed, ditch, drop, dump, get rid of, jettison, forlese, lose
- Antonyms
- come across, discover, find, gain, acquire, procure, get, pick up, snag, win, gain, put on, come first, possess, receive
- Derived terms
81 terms
and nothing of value was lost, be someone's to lose, for the lose, have nothing to lose, how you get them is how you lose them, lorel, lose an hour of sleep, lose caste, lose control, lose count, lose face, lose ground, lose heart, lose her head, lose his head, lose it, lose-lose, lose no time, lose one's balance, lose one's battle, lose one's bearings, lose one's bottle, lose one's cookies, lose one's cool, lose oneself, lose one's head, lose one's heart, lose one's life, lose one's lunch, lose one's marbles, lose one's mind, lose one's nerve, lose one's patience, lose one's rag, lose one's shirt, lose one's shit, lose one's temper, lose one's tongue, lose one's touch, lose one's virginity, lose one's way, lose one's wits, lose out, lose patience, lose sight of, lose sleep, lose steam, lose the bell, lose the bubble, lose the dressing room, lose the fang, lose their head, lose the number of one's mess, lose the plot, lose the run of oneself, lose the thread, lose time, lose to plot, lose touch, lose track, lose weight, losingly, move it or lose it, no-lose, no love lost, nonlosing, no time to lose, the wolf may lose his teeth but never his nature, unlose, use it or lose it, what you gain on the swings you lose on the roundabouts, what you lose on the swings you gain on the roundabouts, win or lose, would lose one's head if it wasn't attached, would lose one's head if it wasn't bolted on, would lose one's head if it wasn't glued on, would lose one's head if it wasn't screwed on, would lose one's head if it wasn't stuck on, would lose one's head if it wasn't tied on, would lose one's head if it weren't attached, you snooze you lose