loss
nounUK /lɒs/ · US /lɑs/
Etymology From Middle English los, from Old English los (“damage, destruction, loss”), from Proto-West Germanic *los, from Proto-Germanic *lusą (“dissolution, break-up, loss”), from Proto-Indo-European *lews- (“to cut, sunder, separate, loose, lose”). Cognate with Icelandic los (“dissolution, looseness, break-up”), Old English lor, forlor (“loss, ruin”), Middle High German verlor (“loss, ruin”). More at lose.
8 senses
- 1The result of no longer possessing an object, a…
- 2The destruction or ruin of an object.
- 3Something that has been destroyed or ruined.
- 4Defeat; an instance of being defeated.
- 5The death of a person or animal.
- 6The condition of grief caused by losing someone or…
- 7The sum an entity loses on balance.
- 8Electricity of kinetic power expended without doing useful work.
The result of no longer possessing an object, a function, or a characteristic due to external causes or misplacement.
- loss of limb; weight loss; loss of cognitive functions; loss of appetite.
- People are less willing to take a risk to make a gain than to avoid a loss.
1 more example
- In other areas, glacier loss creates serious risk of a dry period across the Third Pole, Wang said.
The destruction or ruin of an object.
Something that has been destroyed or ruined.
- It was a terrible crash; both cars were total losses.
Defeat; an instance of being defeated.
- The match ended in their first loss of the season.
The death of a person or animal.
- We mourn his loss.
- The battle was won, but losses were great.
The condition of grief caused by losing someone or something, especially someone who has died.
- Her daughter's sense of loss eventually led to depression.
- The sum of expenditures and taxes minus total income is a loss, when this difference is positive.
Engineering, Natural sciences, Physical sciences Electricity of kinetic power expended without doing useful work.
- The inefficiency of many old-fashioned power plants exceeds 60% loss before the subsequent losses during transport over the grid.
- Synonyms
- deperdition, forlesing, loss
- Antonyms
- acquisition, win
- Derived terms
61 terms
at a loss, at a loss for words, blood loss, bloodloss, bone loss, capital loss, core loss, dead loss, deadweight loss, drip loss, ego loss, for a loss, for the loss, generation loss, habitat loss, hair loss, head loss, headloss, hearing loss, hull loss, instant loss, instant loss 2koma, lossage, loss and damage, loss and gain are brothers twain, loss condition, lossful, loss function, loss leader, lossless, lossmaker, loss-maker, loss-making, loss of consortium, loss of face, loss of life, loss of supply, loss prevention, lossproof, loss ratio, lossy, net loss, net operating loss, one man's loss is another man's gain, operating loss, packet loss, path loss, pregnancy loss, profit and loss, profit and loss statement, sightloss, stop-loss, stop loss, stop-loss order, stop loss order, tackle for loss, total loss, vision loss, wake loss, weight loss, without loss of generality- Hypernyms
- decrement
- Hyponyms
- forfeiture, misplacement