loselose /luːz/ ●●● S1 W1 verb (past tense and past participle lost /lɒst $ lɒːst/) 
I’ve lost my appetite.lose confidence/interest/hope etc The business community has lost confidence in the government. Carol lost interest in ballet in her teens. Try not to lose heart (=become sad and hopeless) – there are plenty of other jobs.lose face (=stop having as much respect from other people) A settlement was reached in which neither side lost face.lose weight/height/speed etc You’re looking slim. Have you lost weight? The plane emptied its fuel tanks as it started losing altitude.lose your sight/hearing/voice/balance etc Mr Eyer may lose the sight in one eye. The tour was postponed when the lead singer lost his voice. Julian lost his balance and fell.lose your touch (=become less skilled at doing something you used to do well) This latest movie proves Altman is by no means losing his touch. By the time the ambulance arrived, Douglas had lost consciousness.lose all sense of time/direction/proportion etc When he was writing, he lost all sense of time.lose sight of something (=forget an important fact about a situation) We must never lose sight of the fact that man must work in harmony with nature.2not win [intransitive, transitive] to not win a game, argument, election, war etc OPP win: They played so badly they deserved to lose. Klinger lost his seat in the election. Arkansas just lost three games in a row. He just can’t bear to lose an argument.lose to The Beavers have dropped only one game since losing to Oregon in January.lose (something) by 1 goal/10 votes/20 points etc The government lost by one vote. The Communist candidate lost by a whisker (=a very small amount). Freddie died in 1982 after losing his battle against AIDS.lose somebody something It was a rash decision, and it lost him the race (=caused him to lose the race).3cannot find something [transitive] to become unable to find someone or something: I’ve lost the tickets for tonight’s show. I followed her on foot, but lost her in the crowd. It was thought the manuscript had been lost forever.be/get lost in the post British English, be/get lost in the mail American English The parcel must have got lost in the post.lose track of something/somebody (=stop knowing where someone or something is) He lost track of her after her family moved away.lose sight of something/somebody (=stop being able to see someone or something) Don’t try to walk in a heavy snowstorm as you may lose sight of your vehicle. → lost property4stop having something [transitive] if you lose something that is important or necessary, you then no longer have it, especially because it has been taken from you or destroyed: David’s very upset about losing his job. Hundreds of people lost their homes in the floods. My family lost everything in the war. He was over the limit and will lose his licence. Ninety naval aircraft were lost and thirty damaged.lose a chance/opportunity If you hesitate, you may lose the opportunity to compete altogether.lose something to somebody/something We were losing customers to cheaper rivals. She was about to lose her husband to a younger woman. California has lost 90% of its wetlands to development.lose an arm/leg/eye etc He lost his leg in a motorcycle accident. He’s lost a lot of blood but his life is not in danger.lose somebody something the mistakes which lost him his kingdom (=caused him to lose his kingdom)5death [transitive] a)lose your life to die: a memorial to honor those who lost their lives in the war b)if you lose a relative or friend, they die – use this when you want to avoid saying the word ‘die’: One woman in Brooklyn lost a husband and two sons in the gang wars. Sadly, Anna lost the baby (=her baby died before it was born).lose somebody to cancer/AIDS etc He lost his father to cancer (=his father died of cancer) last year. Peter was lost at sea when his ship sank.6money [intransitive, transitive] if you lose money, you then have less money than you had beforelose on The company is in debt after losing an estimated $30 million on its dotcom enterprise. Creditors and investors stand to lose (=risk losing) vast sums after the company’s collapse. A lot of people lost their shirts (=lost a lot of money) on Ferraris in the eighties. It’s a great deal – we can’t lose!lose somebody something The stock market crash lost the banks £70 million (=caused them to lose £70 million).7have nothing to lose spoken if you have nothing to lose, it is worth taking a risk because you cannot make your situation any worse: You might as well apply for the job – you’ve got nothing to lose.have nothing to lose but your pride/reputation etc The working class has nothing to lose but its chains (=disadvantages, restrictions etc).have a lot/too much to lose (=used to say that you could make your situation much worse) These youngsters know they have too much to lose by protesting against the system.8time [transitive] a)if you lose time, you do not make progress as quickly as you want to or shouldlose time/2 days/3 hours etc Vital minutes were lost because the ambulance took half an hour to arrive. In 1978, 29 million days were lost in industrial action. Come on, there’s no time to lose (=do not waste time).lose no time in doing something (=do something immediately) Murdock lost no time in taking out a patent for his invention. b)if a watch, clock etc loses time, it runs too slowly and shows an earlier time than it should OPP gain9lose your way/bearings a)to stop knowing where you are or which direction you should go in: I lost my way in the network of tiny alleys. b)to become uncertain about your beliefs or what you should do: The company seems to have lost its way of late.10lose touch (with somebody/something) a)if two people lose touch, they gradually stop communicating, for example by no longer phoning or writing to each other: I’ve lost touch with all my old school friends. They lost touch when Di got married and moved away. b)if you lose touch with a situation or group, you are then no longer involved in it and so do not know about it or understand it: They claim the prime minister has lost touch with the party. It sometimes appears that the planners have lost touch with reality.11lose your temper/cool/rag to become angrylose with Diana was determined not to lose her temper with him.12lose your head to become unable to behave calmly or sensibly: You’ve all heard that Nadal lost his head over a girl?13lose your mind to become crazy SYN go crazy, go mad: Nicholas looked at her as if she’d lost her mind.14lose it spoken informal a)to become very angry and upset: She completely lost it with one of the kids in class. b) (also lose the plot) to become crazy or confused: I could see people thinking I’d totally lost the plot.15lose yourself in something to be paying so much attention to something that you do not notice anything else: She listened intently to the music, losing herself in its beauty.16escape [transitive] if you lose someone who is chasing you, you manage to escape from them: There’s a better chance of losing him if we take the back route.17confuse somebody [transitive] spoken informal to confuse someone when you are trying to explain something to them: Explain it again – you’ve lost me already.18remove something [transitive] to remove a part or feature of something that is not necessary or wanted: You could lose the last paragraph to make it fit on one page.19lose something in the translation/telling to be less good than the original form: The joke loses something in the translation. → lost2, → lose count at count2(3), → lose sleep over something at sleep2(4)lose out phrasal verb to not get something good, valuable etc because someone else gets it instead: The deal will ensure that shareholders do not lose out financially.lose out to He lost out to Roy Scheider for the lead role.lose out on Workers who don’t take up training may lose out on promotion.
WORD ORIGINlose
Origin:
Old English losian ‘to destroy or be destroyed, to lose’VERB TABLE
lose
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | lose |
| he, she, it | loses | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | lost |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have lost |
| he, she, it | has lost | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had lost |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will lose |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have lost |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am losing |
| he, she, it | is losing | |
| you, we, they | are losing | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was losing |
| you, we, they | were losing | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been losing |
| he, she, it | has been losing | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been losing |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be losing |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been losing |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- "What are you looking for?" "My purse. I think I might have lost it."
- England lost to Brazil in the final.
- Everyone expected the Democrats to lose the election.
- He lost his title unexpectedly to a man who is virtually unknown outside boxing circles.
- I'll lose my job if the factory closes.
- I'm not playing tennis with her any more - I always lose.
- I always lose when I play tennis with my sister.
- I need to lose 10 pounds before the wedding.
- If you lose your credit card, phone this number immediately.
- Investors lost several million dollars on the project.
- It's a terrible thing to lose someone very close to you.
- Many people think that the Democrats' tax policies lost them the election.
- Michelle lost her job again.
- Neil put the certificate in a drawer so he wouldn't lose it.
- Noel lost the argument.
- NRT Corporation lost $2.2 million in the most recent quarter on sales of $6.3 million.
- Oh there you are - I thought I'd lost you.
- Professor Wilkes lost his sight in an accident three years ago.
- Sharon lost her mother when she was very young.
- Sorry, you lost your chance.
- I was a step away from triumph and did not want to lose it.
- In most Western democracies in the twentieth century, legislatures have lost a great deal of ground to executive branches.
- Josefina and I were plumb about to lose it.
- Last week was the first time Hastert had lost such a procedural vote.
- They have lost no time in sounding the alarm about an impending famine, which they say threatens 1.9m people.
Longman Language Activatorto be unable to find someone or something
to be unable to find something, especially because you cannot remember where you put it: · If you lose your credit card, phone this number immediately.· "What are you looking for?" "My purse. I think I might have lost it."· Neil put the certificate in a drawer so he wouldn't lose it.
to be unable to find something or someone, especially after you have spent a long time looking for them: · She searched her pockets, but she couldn't find the tickets.· What's happened to Eric? I can't find him anywhere.
formal to lose something for a short time, especially because you put it somewhere and then forgot where you put it: · I seem to have temporarily mislaid my keys. Have you seen them anywhere?· If your bank card is lost, mislaid or stolen, call our Card Hotline number.
formal the fact that you have lost something: · The company cannot accept liability for loss or damage to a passenger's property.the loss of something: · You should report the loss of your passport to the consulate.
someone or something that you cannot find a missing object is lost and may have been stolen; a missing person cannot be found and may be in danger: · She's been missing for three days now, and we're very worried.· The painting, which has been missing for almost half a century, only turned up when the owner of the house died.missing from: · Police are 'very concerned' for the safety of a teenager who's been missing from home for three days. · Two pages were missing from my copy of the report.go missing (from) British (=become lost or be stolen): · A small sum of money went missing from the office last night.report somebody/something missing (from) (=tell someone in authority that someone or something is lost or stolen): · The man had reported his girlfriend missing three days after she disappeared.
if something is lost , no-one knows where it is: · I've looked everywhere for the car keys. I think they must be lost.· Divers are searching for the plane's lost flight recorder.get lost: · You haven't gotten my letter yet? It must have gotten lost in the mail.
if something or someone disappears , they cannot be found and you think they may have been stolen or may be in danger: · I thought I had a copy of the notes, but they seem to have disappeared somewhere.· The parents of an art student who disappeared in the middle of his exams have made an emotional plea for him to come home.disappear from: · The letter had mysteriously disappeared from the file overnight.
if someone or something is nowhere to be seen or nowhere to be found , you have looked everywhere for them but still cannot find them: · Our tour guide was nowhere to be seen, so we set off to explore the city alone.· She'd looked everywhere for her glasses, but they were nowhere to be found.
to lose a game, argument, election, war etc to lose a game, competition, fight, or war: · I always lose when I play tennis with my sister.lose a game/fight/election etc: · Everyone expected the Democrats to lose the election.· The Chicago Bears lost their eighth game in a row (=they lost eight games, one after the other).lose to: · England lost to Brazil in the final.· He lost his title unexpectedly to a man who is virtually unknown outside boxing circles.lose 3-2/by 1 goal/by 10 votes/by 20 points etc: · The Springboks lost by only three points to the All Blacks.· The match was lost 3 to 1.lose somebody the game/competition/election etc (=be the reason that someone lost): · Many people think that the Democrats' tax policies lost them the election.
to lose a game, competition, or race, often by a large amount or when you were expecting to win: · In 37 fights, Lewis has only been beaten once.· Jake sure doesn't like being beaten.be beaten by: · The Barbarians were beaten in the quarter-finals by the Korean side.get beaten: · We always seems to get beaten when we play in Europe.
to lose an important or difficult battle, election, or game: · Government forces took control of the town after the rebel forces were defeated.be defeated by: · Last night, the Raiders were defeated by a superior team.be badly/heavily/decisively defeated (=be very badly defeated): · He ran for Congress last year, but was decisively defeated.be narrowly defeated (=to lose but be very close to winning): · The Democratic Party was narrowly defeated in the general election, and will form a coalition with the Congress party.
when a person, team, or army is defeated in a game, competition, election, battle etc: · It was the Christian Democratic Party's fourth successive electoral defeat.defeat of: · the defeat of Napoleon at the battle of Waterloosomebody's defeat of somebody (=the fact that one person or team defeats another): · Scotland's defeat of Spainsomebody's defeat by somebody (=the fact that one person or team is defeated by another): · Mr Taylor blamed bad publicity for his defeat by Mr Jones.a crushing/humiliating/resounding defeat: · The captain offered no excuses for his team's humiliating defeat.· The New York Times described the withdrawal of troops as a resounding defeat for the government.suffer a defeat: · She retired from the sport after suffering a series of humiliating defeats.
if a very good player, team etc meets their match , they are beaten by an even better player, team etc, especially after a long period during which they were never beaten: · She's a good player but she'll meet her match when she plays Sara.meet your match in: · I slowly started to realize I had met my match in Nigel.
to lose very badly in a game of football, tennis etc: · `I hear you took a bit of a beating last night.' 'Yeah, we lost 12 -2.'
to stop trying to win to stop playing, fighting, or trying to succeed because you know you will lose, especially after you have struggled to succeed for a long time: · The four climbers were eventually forced to admit defeat when weather conditions made it impossible to continue.· She simply refuses to accept defeat, no matter how bad things seem.
to stop playing, fighting, arguing etc because you know that you are not good enough to win: · Marie's stubborn, and she doesn't give in easily.give in to: · I figured if we gave in to them this time, they'd be back for another fight. · In the end, I had to give in to dad -- he's usually right anyway.
to officially say that you want to stop fighting in a war because you realize that you cannot win: · Finally, on April 16th, the enemy surrendered.surrender to: · 19 rebels hiding in the Czech embassy surrendered to the authorities.
to admit that you are not going to win a battle, argument, or game because you are not strong enough or good enough to win: · Eventually, the chairman was forced to concede and announce his resignation.· "Sam, you have to apologise to her" -- "I know," Sam conceded grudgingly.concede defeat (=admit you are defeated): · Matthew kept on arguing his point, unwilling to concede defeat.concede that: · Environmentalists concede that it will not be easy to persuade car drivers to use their vehicles less often.concede to: · We both had a point, but neither of us would concede to the other.
when you are likely to lose a game etc to be in a position where you are likely to lose a game, competition, election or war because you are not doing as well as your opponent: · "Is Joachim winning?" "No, he's losing."be losing the game/war etc: · It can be difficult not to show your frustration when you're losing the match.be losing 3--1/by 15 points/by 2 goals etc: · "What's the score?" "We're losing 3 -- nil."
to be losing a game, competition, or election: be behind by two goals/by10 points etc: · The opinion polls show that the Republicans are behind by 3%.be 10 points/a goal etc behind: · "How are we doing?" "We're 10 points behind, I'm afraid."be a long way behind/be way behind (=be losing by a large amount): · Although we only had a short break, we were a long way behind the front runners.· The Eagles are way behind. We'll never win at this rate.
also trail behind to be losing a game or competition, or election - used especially in news reports: · Penn State trail West Virginia by only 1 point.trail 3--0/by 10 points/by 8 votes etc: · Sweden was trailing by 2 games to 1.· With his team trailing 72--78, the manager was forced to bring back his star player.trail behind: · These two top drivers have left the others trailing behind.· Labour trailed third, behind the Conservative and Liberal parties.
a person or team that is not expected to win: · The defending champion was beaten by an outsider in the first round.· Smith, a little-known outsider with limited political experience, came from behind to score a surprise victory.rank outsider (=someone with a very small chance of winning) British: · He started as a no-hoper -- a rank outsider for the title.
someone who has lost the person or group that has lost a game, competition, or election: · The losers walked slowly off the field.· I'd like to congratulate all our entrants, the winners and the losers.bad loser (=someone who behaves badly when they lose): · You're just a bad loser Phil, that's your problem.
: losing side/team etc one that has lost: · Nobody wants to be on the losing side.· The quiz show gives losing contestants the chance to see what they would have won.
the person or team that comes second or third in a game, race, or competition: · 100 lucky runners-up will receive a boxed set of CDs.· Gordon was also presented with a cheque as runner-up of the closely fought contest.
: defeated army/finalist/opponent etc one that lost the battle, war, game etc: · Let's have a quick word with the two defeated finalists.· The rebels hope to weaken the regime further by attacking its defeated and demoralised forces.
to get angry also get mad American · Mike gets very angry when he loses at tennis.get angry at · You have no right to get mad at me. It's not my fault.
to suddenly become angry, especially after you have been trying not to: · As the argument escalated, Mason lost his temper completely.lose your temper with: · You should never lose your temper with the students - it'll only make things worse.
also go mad British informal to suddenly become very angry: · My father blew his top when I told him I was quitting medical school.· "What happened when you told him you wrecked the car?" "Oh, he hit the roof."· Mom would go crazy if she found out you had started smoking.· I'm going to go nuts if that phone doesn't stop ringing.· When Tommy's new bike was stolen, he had a fit.
also go ape American informal to suddenly become very angry: · If my wife ever finds out about this, she'll go berserk.· Joe went ape when we tried to take the car keys away from him outside the bar.
British informal to start behaving and talking to people in an angry way, especially when other people think this is unreasonable: · She's the sort of boss who gets really stroppy if things aren't done her way.· Mel got a bit stroppy when the maitre d' put us at a table he didn't like.
the feeling of being ashamed the feeling that you have when you know that you have behaved badly or that you have lost other people's respect: · She remembered her angry words with a deep sense of shame.· "Please don't tell my dad about this," he said, blushing with shame.shame of: · She never overcame the shame of having abandoned her children.in shame: · Following the scandal, Garrison resigned in shame.
when you have completely lost other people's respect because of something bad you have done: · While the father was in jail, the whole family suffered his disgrace.disgrace of: · Garton killed himself because he could not bear the disgrace of a public scandal.in disgrace: · Browne was caught using drugs, and was sent home from the private school in disgrace.
a situation in which you are made to look weak or stupid that makes you ashamed and upset: · Her attackers seemed to take special pleasure in her humiliation.humiliation of: · What really upset me was the humiliation of having to ask her for money.public humiliation: · The Senator's public humiliation is almost punishment enough for what he did.
a situation in which you feel that you have no pride or self-respect, because people treat you as if you were completely unimportant: · He suffered insult and indignity in silence.· Being accused of theft was just one of the indignities I suffered under my last employer.indignity of: · I had to endure the indignity of being strip-searched for drugs.
to lose other people's respect for you, especially by doing something that makes you look weak, immoral, or stupid: · The leaders need to find a way of compromising without losing face among their supporters.· Rather than giving in and losing face, she carried on her needless quarrel with her father.
a strong feeling of being hated by society and being ashamed because of your situation or your actions: · Even when someone has been found innocent of a crime, the stigma often remains.stigma of: · At first I found the stigma of being unemployed very difficult to cope with.a stigma attached to something: · In many countries there is still a strong social stigma attached to homosexuality.
not paying attention to what is happening · What did the announcers just say? I wasn't paying attention.not pay attention to · When you're young, you don't pay attention to what your parents are saying half the time.
to not pay attention because you are thinking about pleasant things or imagining things that you would like to happen: · Blackthorne was sitting alone in a corner of the garden, daydreaming.daydream about: · Almost anyone who has ever read a good book has daydreamed about writing his or her own best-seller.
British informal to stop paying attention to something because you are bored, or to stop thinking about your work after you have finished in the evening and relax: · In the end I got sick of the conversation and switched off.· It's difficult for teachers to switch off when they go home at night.
British spoken to not be paying attention to anything or anyone around you and seem to be thinking about something very different: · Sorry, I was miles away. What did you say?· I don't mean to disturb you, you looked miles away -- but there's a call for you.
if your mind wanders you are no longer paying attention, usually because you are bored or because something is worrying you: · I tried hard to concentrate, but my mind kept wandering.your mind wanders to/from: · His mind wandered to the things he was trying not to think about.let your mind wander: · Corrinne let her mind wander back to the days when they first met.
someone who is inattentive does not pay attention to something when they are expected to: · Roger was hyperactive and inattentive as a child.· In spite of the inattentive servers and the bad decor, it's worth eating at Leon's for the great cheap food. inattentive to: · The government is still being accused of being inattentive to the plight of the Health Service.
if you lose your concentration , you stop being able to think carefully about what you are doing, for example because you are suddenly interrupted: · Sensing that the team was losing their concentration, Barret called a time out.· With too much homework, children may lose concentration and stop progressing.
when a baby is not born alive · "Am I going to lose the baby?'' she asked the doctor.· Patricia lost the baby after six months.
if a woman has a miscarriage the baby comes out of her body far too early for it to be able to live: · She was pregnant during her first marriage, but had a miscarriage.
a baby that is stillborn is born dead but fully developed: · Sadly, the baby was stillborn.· Libby had still not recovered from the shock of giving birth to a stillborn child.
if a baby is born dead , it is not alive when it is born: · The doctor told them that there was a danger their baby would be born dead or brain damaged.
a medical operation to deliberately end a pregnancy so that the baby is not born alive: · The Catholic Church remains strongly opposed to abortion.have an abortion: · One of my friends got pregnant when she was fifteen and had an abortion.backstreet abortion (=a secret illegal abortion by someone who is not trained): · Backstreet abortions left many women unable to have children later.
formal to perform the operation that prevents a baby from being born alive, often because the mother's life is in danger - used especially by doctors: · Doctors may terminate a pregnancy when the life of the mother is at risk.
to become unsteady and start to fall to suddenly become unsteady and start to fall: · Put your arms out to the side so that you don't lose your balance.· She ran after the dog, lost her balance, and fell flat on her face.
if someone or something totters or teeters they move unsteadily from side to side and look as if they are going to fall: · I could feel the tray tottering and suddenly all the drinks crashed to the floor.· His chair teetered back dangerously on two legs.
to move unsteadily from side to side: · She bumped the table and the glasses wobbled.· "Who could that be?" the old man said as he wobbled toward the door.
to decide not to do something because you are too frightened to suddenly lose the confidence and calmness that you need in order to do something dangerous or frightening: · Dan wanted to ask his boss for a day off but he lost his nerve at the last minute.· I stood at the top of the ski-slope for a minute then lost my nerve.
to not be brave enough to do something because you are afraid of what might happen if you do it: not dare do something: · The older boys used to bully me but I didn't dare complain.not dare to do something: · Billy stood on top of the rock, not daring to jump down.not dare: · I wanted to ask Dad for the money but I didn't dare.
spoken informal to not be brave enough to do something that you intended to do or said you would do: · I was supposed to make the introductory speech, but I chickened out at the last minute.chicken/wimp out of doing something: · She chickened out of telling her father that she and David were going to live together.
spoken to not be brave enough to do something that people think you should do: · He wouldn't have the guts to say that to me.· I planned to ask my boss for a raise but in the end I didn't have the guts.not have the guts to do something: · Peg has done all the things I never had the guts to try.be without/lack guts: · Joe's a weak character, without guts or ambition.· She's intelligent enough, but she lacks guts.
to not be brave or confident enough to do something because you think it is too difficult, dangerous or embarrassing: · I'd love to quit my job and go back to college but I don't have the nerve.not have the nerve to do something: · He doesn't have the nerve to tell the boss what he really thinks of her.
to lose colour if a colour or coloured material fades , its colour becomes paler, for example because it has been in sunlight for a long time: · Over the years the green paint had faded.· Your natural hair colour begins to fade as you grow older, and eventually you go grey.
British /lose its color American if a material or object loses its colour , the colour comes out of it, especially because of the effects of washing or sunlight: · Will this shirt lose its colour if you wash it?· Red onions lose their color when cooked.
if the colours run on a piece of clothing when you wash it, some of the colour goes from one part of it and onto another part of it because the water is too hot: · It is usually advisable to wash new clothes separately as they tend to run.
not confident to not be confident about your abilities or appearance: · Francine lacks confidence and needs a lot of encouragement and support.· I was fat, had no friends, and lacked confidence.· While girls lack confidence, boys often overestimate their abilities.
to stop feeling confident, especially after making a mistake: · "How was your driving test?" "Terrible - I made one small mistake, and then I just lost confidence."· People tend to lose confidence if they've been out of work for a while.
to not be confident, especially because you are young or you do not have much experience: · At first, Chris seemed nervous and unsure of herself.· He was only 21 and still very unsure of himself with girls.
not confident about making decisions, trying new experiences, or forming new relationships, especially because you are worried that you are not good enough: · Ben's parents' divorce left him lonely and insecure.insecure about: · Even though she's a model, she's very insecure about how she looks.
if a person or a group of people are demoralized , they have lost all their confidence that they can succeed at something and are unwilling to continue with it: · a demoralized work force· Many employees became demoralized and cynical when the company announced another round of job cuts.utterly/thoroughly demoralized: · The team was a wreck - thoroughly demoralized after a humiliating season.
not confident about something you are trying to achieve, because you have had difficulty achieving it: · I was very discouraged at the time, but I still hoped we could find a solution.get/become discouraged: · Students with learning difficulties who do not have a dedicated teacher can become discouraged very easily.discouraged by: · Discouraged by her failed marriages, she gradually withdrew from the world.discouraged about: · Hartman was so discouraged about the way his performing career was going, that he gave up acting for writing.
to no longer speak to or write to someone to not speak to, write to, or see someone for a long time, so that finally you do not know where they are or what they are doing: · It's sad, but Wendy and I have lost touch.lose touch with: · After Jason moved to Utah, I lost touch with him.
to no longer be able to contact someone by radio or electronic signals, as a result of technical problems: lose contact with: · Air traffic control say they've lost contact with the plane.
unable to control your feelings to become unable to control your feelings and become very angry or upset: · He made her so angry that she lost control and hit him.
uncontrollable emotions or actions are difficult or impossible to control: · Barbara was shaking with uncontrollable laughter.· At the mention of Hannah's name, he flew into an uncontrollable rage.
especially spoken to feel so excited, interested etc that you cannot control what you are saying or doing: · It's easy to get carried away and buy a lot of things that you don't need.· A few of the younger men got a bit carried away and started dancing on the tables.
especially spoken to be so upset or nervous that you cannot control what you are doing and cannot think sensibly: · I was so nervous in my driving test I just went to pieces.· Keeping busy was the only thing that kept her from going to pieces during the divorce.
to suddenly become very angry or upset, after you have been trying to stop yourself getting angry or upset for a long time: · Leroy finally snapped and attacked his tormentors.· Melanie Smithson, who is accused of murdering her husband, has claimed that she snapped after years of violence and abuse.somebody's patience snaps: · Charlotte's patience suddenly snapped.
if you give in to an emotion such as anger or unhappiness, you can no longer control that emotion: · She was determined not to give in to despair.· Miles struggled not to give in to his feelings of anger and hopelessness.
informal to suddenly get very angry or upset, so that you are no longer able to control what you say or do: · Pete just lost it completely and started shouting and screaming at us.
when you cannot control something to no longer be able to control a situation, vehicle, group of people etc: · The car skidded on the ice, and I lost control.lose control of: · She felt as if she was losing control of her children.· O'Connor recently lost control of the company he had run for seven years.
a situation that is out of control has got much worse and can no longer be controlled: · The fire was out of control.· Teenage crime was now out of control.get out of control: · It's easy to let spending on credit cards get out of control.
if something, especially a situation, gets out of hand , it gets so serious or difficult that it can no longer be controlled: · The costs have continued to increase, and now seem to be getting out of hand.· Police were called in when the situation began to get out of hand.
a situation or force that is beyond your control is one that you are not able to control, especially if someone else is controlling it or because no one can control it: · Some of the kids there were beyond any teacher's control.circumstances beyond our control (=a situation that we cannot control): · Due to circumstances beyond our control, we have had to cancel tonight's performance of "Carmen'.
to no longer be able to control a situation that you have had difficulty controlling for a long time: · By 1965, US troops in the area were beginning to lose their grip.lose your grip on something: · I was worried that Clive seemed to be losing his grip on things.
increasing or spreading in an unexpected way that cannot be controlled: · Some economists are now predicting the danger of runaway inflation.· They see technology as a runaway force that humans can no longer control.
growing, spreading or continuing very quickly, in a way that is impossible to stop - used especially in literature: · It wasn't military action but rampant disease that finally caused the population to surrender.· Corruption soon became rampant.
to grow or develop in a completely uncontrolled way: · Organized crime has been running wild since the collapse of the old regime.· She allowed her imagination to run wild.
to calculate or count something wrongly · We have too many chairs. I must have miscalculated.· The city miscalculated the cost of earthquake repairs for the Bay Bridge.miscalculate how much/how many/how long etc · Sorry we're late -- we miscalculated how long it would take to get here.
to count something wrongly: · I thought everyone was here, but I must have miscounted.miscount something: · Census Bureau officials announced that they miscounted the nation's official population by 5 million people.
to forget how many things or people you have already counted, when you are counting a lot of things over a long period: · I've been trying to keep a record of how many tickets we've sold, but I've lost count.
to wrongly guess an amount, price or number by making the total too high: · I made enough food for forty people but it looks like I overestimated.· A Harvard University survey found that Americans significantly overestimate the cost of higher education.
to wrongly guess an amount, price, or number by making it too low: · We saved about $1000 for our trip but we underestimated and may have to wait until next year to go.· Early mapmakers often underestimated the earth's circumference.
when one of your relatives or friends dies if you lose a close relative or friend, they die: · Sharon lost her mother when she was very young.· It's a terrible thing to lose someone very close to you.
if you are widowed , your husband or wife dies: · Tony's mother was widowed at the age of 23 with three children.
if you are orphaned , both your parents die when you are still young: · Ben was orphaned at an early age and raised by an uncle.
formal used about someone whose close relative or friend has died: · The bereaved mother stood by her son's grave.· Bereaved family members are demanding more information about the plane crash.
to die in an accident, war, fight etc · The firefighters died when the warehouse floor collapsed.die/be killed in an accident/explosion/the war etc · Two people were killed and four injured in a gas explosion this morning.die/be killed in action (=be killed in a war) · His brother was killed in action in Vietnam.
: starve/freeze/bleed etc to death to die because of having no food, being too cold, losing blood etc: · The baby starved to death.· He bled to death after being stabbed repeatedly.
to be killed in a terrible event - used especially in news reports and descriptions of past events: · Hundreds of people lost their lives when the ship overturned in a storm.· Supporters continue to visit the site where Colosio lost his life to an assassin's bullet.
British informal to die in a violent or unpleasant way - use this especially when you think the person who died deserved this: · At the end of the film the prisoners are rescued, and the pirates come to a sticky end.
to die in a terrible event - used especially in literature and news reports: · Everyone aboard the ship perished when it sank off the coast of Maine.· Five children perished before firefighters could put out the blaze.
if a military force suffers heavy losses , a very large number of its soldiers die while fighting: · US forces withdrew after suffering heavy losses.· The troops suffered heavy losses fighting their way through the Italian countryside.
to almost fall from a standing position also trip over British to accidentally hit something with your foot when you are walking or running, so that you fall or nearly fall: · I didn't push him - he tripped.· She'd had quite a lot to drink and kept tripping over.trip over: · Pick up that box -- someone might trip over it.trip on: · Her medical problems began when she tripped on a rug and broke her hip.trip and fall: · One boy tripped and fell into the water.
to accidentally slide on a wet or smooth surface, so that you fall or nearly fall: · Be careful you don't slip - the floor's wet.slip on : · She slipped on the icy sidewalk and grabbed Will's arm to steady herself.slip and fall: · I walked slowly through the mud, trying not to slip and fall.
to nearly fall down when you are walking or running, because you do not put your foot down carefully or because something is in the way: · In her hurry, Eva stumbled and dropped the tray she was carrying.stumble on/over: · Mason headed towards the house, stumbling on the rough ground.
to fall or nearly fall, when you need to balance carefully to remain in an upright position, for example when you are standing on a ladder or riding a bicycle: · I tried to help Gina up, but I lost my balance and we both fell into the stream.· Bill was leaning over to watch, and lost his balance.
to lose your balance because your foot slips, especially when you are walking or climbing over an uneven or slippery surface: · I lost my footing on the snowy bank and fell into the river.· A climber who lost his footing was taken to hospital with serious injuries.
to gamble to try to win money, for example by playing cards or guessing which horse will win a race: · Eddie loved to gamble, and would spend most evenings at the roulette table.gamble away something/gamble something away (=waste a lot of money by gambling): · Roger gambled away all his money in a Las Vegas casino.· She inherited $50,000 but gambled it away.
when you try to win money, for example by playing cards or guessing which horse will win a race: · Is gambling legal here?· Your Uncle Maury has a gambling problem.· Crane admits that he is addicted to gambling.· He was against the introduction of a National Lottery as he thought it might encourage gambling.
to try to win money by guessing who will win a race or game: · I don't bet very often.bet on something/have a bet on something (=gamble money on the result of a race or game): · We usually have a bet on the Grand Prix.· Rogers was not much of a gambler. When he bet on the horses, he almost always lost.bet £10/$100 etc on something: · Jerry bet $1000 on the game.place a bet (=say which horse, team, competition etc you want to gamble on and pay the money that you want to gamble): · I've placed a bet on a horse in the next race.· All bets must be placed before the start of the race.
to gamble £10, $20 etc on the horse or team that you think will win a race or competition: · I put $20 on the Cowboys to win.· He put £50 on Middlesborough to beat Manchester United at odds of 3-1.put a bet on something (=gamble on a horse, game etc): · I think I'll put a bet on the next race.
to gamble money on a particular horse, team, or person that you think will win a particular competition: · We backed a horse named Travelling Light that finished first at 10-1.back something/somebody to win something: · Uncle Barry backed Arsenal to win the FA Cup.
to gamble money on the result of a game which you are playing, for example cards: · "Are we playing for money here, gentlemen?" he said as he approached the pool table.· You're allowed to play cards in the bar, but not for money.
British informal to gamble a small amount of money, especially on the result of a horse race - use this especially about someone who does not gamble very often: · I'm not a heavy gambler, but I like to have a flutter from time to time.have a flutter on: · I had a little flutter on the Grand National and won £5.
to lose money by not guessing correctly the result of a game, race, or competition: · He claims that he lost the money on a dice game.· I lost a lot of money on the dogs last night.
to win money by correctly guessing the result of a game, race, or competition: · I heard that he won a lot of money on the Superbowl a few years ago.
to not get something that you could get to not get something such as a job, contract etc because it is given to someone else instead: · It's simple -- unless you make an effort you're going to lose out.lose out to: · In the end we lost out to a French company because they could do the job cheaper.lose out on: · Time and time again, women seem to lose out on promotions and career opportunities.
to not get something or be able to enjoy something because you are not in the right place to do this: · Where were you last night? You missed out.miss out on: · She was so busy studying at university that she missed out on all the fun.· Get to the sales early to avoid missing out on all the best bargains.
if a chance or enjoyable experience passes you by , you do not get it because you do not make an effort or pay enough attention to it: · Sometimes I feel that all the best things in life are passing me by.· Seize opportunities while you can -- don't let them pass you by.· He ended up a bitter old man who felt that life had somehow passed him by.
to no longer have something important to no longer have something important or valuable, such as your job or your home, because it has been destroyed or taken away from you: · I'll lose my job if the factory closes.· We lost our home and all our belongings in the fire.lose your sight/hearing etc (=lose the ability to see/hear etc): · Professor Wilkes lost his sight in an accident three years ago.
if a mistake, accident etc costs you something important such as your job or your health, you lose that important thing because of it: cost somebody something: · Another mistake like that could cost you your job.· All this delay has cost the company an important contract.cost somebody his/her life: · Larry's years of hard drinking and living almost cost him his life.
if you achieve something at the cost of something else, you lose something of great importance or value as a result of what you achieve: · An increase in profits was achieved, but only at the cost of hundreds of jobs.
if something is a high price to pay , losing or damaging it is so bad that the advantage you gain as a result is not worth it: be a high price to pay for: · The pollution of our rivers is a high price to pay for agricultural development· Most people know now that getting sunburnt is a high price to pay for a quick tan.be too high a price to pay (for): · The new road has made life easier for commuters, but some say it is too high a price to pay.
to stop hoping · Some seeds take a long time to germinate, so don't lose hope if nothing happens in the first year.lose hope/give up hope of doing something · After his accident, Jack had almost given up hope of ever working again.lose hope/give up hope that · We never lost hope that our son would return one day.
to stop hoping and become extremely unhappy, because you think there is no possibility of something happening: · You mustn't despair. Nothing is impossible.· He glared at her, despairing.despair of doing something: · Kate despaired of ever seeing her husband again.
to stop hoping that you will achieve something, because you feel you have not been making much progress: · I think if he fails again he'll just lose heart and give up.· The tunnel had never been finished. Perhaps the builders lost heart and abandoned it.
use this to say that people are beginning to stop hoping that someone is safe, that something will succeed etc: · Hopes are fading, but the search for survivors of the earthquake continues.hopes are fading for: · Hopes are fading for the missing fourteen year old.
to make someone completely stop hoping that something will happen or is true: · I didn't want to dash your hopes unnecessarily.dash sb's hopes of doing something: · a shattering knee injury which dashed his hopes of playing in the World Cup
not hungry · "How about something to eat?'' "No thanks, I'm not hungry.''· We offered her some sandwiches but she said she wasn't hungry.
spoken informal say this to tell someone that you are not hungry: · I had a really big lunch, so I don't feel like anything just now.· "Do you want some toast?" "No thanks, I don't want anything."
to no longer want to eat anything, especially because you are upset or ill or thinking about something else: · Jane's not feeling too well and has lost her appetite.· I shifted the food around my plate, suddenly losing my appetite as he told me the news.
immediately after something else happens · We met at a friend's party, and immediately became friends.· There was a loud explosion in the engine-room, and almost immediately a fire broke out.· I'll call you immediately we hear any news about the baby.immediately after/afterwards · We'll have to leave immediately after the meeting.· Mrs Smith was admitted to hospital at 10 o'clock, but died immediately afterwards.
immediately after something has happened or immediately after you have done something: · As soon as Stephen felt well again, he returned to work.· I will pay you back, I promise, the moment I get paid.· Honey, I swear, I'll phone you the moment I get to New York.
immediately after something has happened or someone has done something - use this especially in stories or in descriptions of events: no sooner had...than: · No sooner had they sat down to eat than the phone rang.· No sooner had he arrived in the city than his wallet was stolen.no sooner was/were...than: · No sooner were the words out of her mouth than she regretted them.
also hardly had immediately after an event or action has finished - use this especially in stories or in descriptions of events: · I'd done food shopping and had barely gotten to the door, when Debbie asked if I'd been listening to the radio.· Hardly had the film reached our screens last July than it was plagued by troubles and controversy.
to do something immediately, as soon as you have the chance to do it: lose no time in doing something: · When the new manager was appointed, he lost no time in reorganizing the office.· Murdock lost no time in setting out for London to find work.
at almost the same time that something else happens, and happening as a direct result of it: · Sea snakes inject a poison so strong that it kills a fish instantly.· It was a head-on crash and both drivers died instantly.
written if someone is killed outright , they die immediately from an attack or an accident: · He was killed outright when his car crashed at high speed.
to stop being interested to stop being interested in something that you were interested in before: · Dan used to play football every Sunday, but then he just lost interest.lose interest in: · Recently she seems to have lost all interest in her work.
to not know the most recent information about something someone who is out of touch with something used to know about it but does not now know the most recent information about it, because they have not read about it or been involved in it for a long time: · I don't know what kind of music kids listen to these days -- I'm really out of touch.be out of touch with: · The press accused MacGregor of being out of touch with the campaign he was supposed to be running.
if you lose touch with a situation or a subject, you no longer know the latest information about it and are unable to understand what is happening in it: · I must do some teaching again -- I'm worried about losing touch.lose touch with: · The French President has lost touch with the reality of the political situation in France.· When you're living abroad, it's easy to lose touch with what's going on back home.
if you lose track of something or someone, you no longer know where they are or what has happened to them: · I had the file on my desk a minute ago, but I seem to have lost track of it.· After the war they lost track of each other.· They fed us every twelve hours, but when you can't see the sun, you lose track of time.
informal if you are not up on the latest fashions, music, or news, you do not know about them: · I spend most of my time in the woods of Wyoming these days, so I'm not really up on all the latest fashions and movies.· My dad's not really up on what kids think these days.
when someone is forced to leave their job · After she lost her job, she got more and more depressed and started drinking heavily.· Many people won't complain about pay and conditions because they're terrified of losing their jobs.
also dismiss formal to make someone leave their job, especially because they have done something wrong: · He was just impossible to work with, and in the end they fired him.· Harris was caught stealing, and was dismissed immediately.· You're fired!fire/dismiss somebody for something: · She was fired for serious professional misconduct.fire from: · When Max was fired from his job the whole family had to pack up and leave town.· A New York art teacher who refused to take part in the daily flag ceremony was dismissed from her post.
British to make someone leave their job, for example, because they are not good enough at it, they are no longer needed, or they have done something wrong: · We can't really give him the sack just because he's unpopular.sack somebody for something: · He was sacked for being drunk in the office.get the sack (=be sacked): · He had the good luck to work in an old family firm when nobody ever got the sack.
to make workers, especially workers in a large factory or organization, leave their jobs, because there is not enough work for them to do, or not enough money to pay their wages: lay off somebody/lay somebody off: · 3000 car workers have been laid off at the factory in Cleveland.
British to make someone leave their job, and usually pay them some money to do so, because they are no longer needed: · At least 2,000 computer programmers have been made redundant in the past year.· We lost our home when my husband was made redundant five years ago.
British a situation in which someone has to leave their job, and is usually paid some money to do so, because they are no longer needed by their company: · These redundancies are necessary for the company to be able to survive.· The board are planning a restructuring which could mean hundreds of redundancies.voluntary redundancy (=when a company asks workers if they want to leave their jobs, and offers to pay them money to do so): · We hope to achieve staffing cuts through voluntary redundancy and a freeze on recruitment.
to make someone leave a job or organization temporarily, either as a punishment for doing something wrong, or while the organization tries to find out whether they have done something wrong or not: · Two senior officials have been suspended on full pay pending a second internal inquiry.suspend from: · The Police Department has suspended six officers from duty while they investigate claims of fraud and corruption.
to tell someone that they must leave their job, either immediately or in a week, a month etc: · The company are planning to close down, and we've all been given two weeks' notice.· In the course of restructuring, over half the workforce were given their notice.
if someone with an important official job is relieved of their duties or post , their job is taken away from them, especially for a short time because people think they have done something very bad and this is being checked: · The Chief Inspector has been relieved of his duties pending another investigation by fellow officers.· The authorities have decided to relieve the professor of his post at the university until further notice, after complaints were made by one of his female students.
to become lost · I'll give you a map so that you don't get lost.· Sorry we're so late. We got lost.
if you lose your way , you go in the wrong direction or take the wrong road when you are trying to go somewhere: · The climbers had lost their way in the dark.· If you lose your way, just stop and ask someone.
to become confused about which direction you should be going in, in a place that you do not know well: · She soon lost her bearings in the dense forest.· I was trying to get to the A22 and lost my bearings a bit in all the country lanes.
when something cannot be seen or is difficult to see if something is invisible , it cannot be seen: · The gas is invisible but highly dangerous.· Word Perfect uses invisible codes for many different functions.· He nodded toward the distant ship, invisible in the darkness.invisible to the naked eye (=invisible without using special instruments to help you): · The space probe can photograph parts of the electronic spectrum that are invisible to the naked eye.
if someone or something is out of sight , you cannot see them, for example because they are too far away or they are behind something else: · Jim waited until his parents' car was out of sight and then left the house.· It's best to keep your purse out of sight in this office.drop/pass out of sight (=move to a position where you cannot be seen): · We both quickly dropped out of sight behind the desk.· The car passed out of sight over the hill. out of sight of: · He would punch and kick me as soon as we were out of sight of the teachers.
to no longer be able to see someone or something because they have moved too far away from you, especially when you are chasing them: · Police lost sight of the man when he ran into a crowd of people.· They gave up the chase, losing sight of the car as it turned the corner.
: dim shape/outline/figure etc one that is difficult to see because it is too far away or because there is not enough light: · He saw the dim outline of the taxi-driver's head inside the cab.· There was enough starlight coming in the window to make out the dim shapes of bunkbeds and rucksacks.
something that is indistinct is difficult to see because its edges are unclear or it is very small: · Even with the binoculars, I could barely make out the indistinct shapes gliding through the water.· All the police have to go on is a grainy, indistinct video clip.
part of a place that is within the area that you can see, but that you cannot see properly or easily: · His son walked into his blind spot just as he was reversing the car.· The recent escapes have prompted prison officers to install video camera surveillance of the blind spot.
to have sex with someone · Teenagers should be taught to think carefully before having sex.have sex with · Would you have sex with someone on your first date?· He's never had sex with anyone but his wife.
the act of having sex with someone: · She had no interest in sex after the baby was born.safe sex (=methods of protecting yourself against sexual disease while you are having sex): · Some people ignore advice about safe sex and do not wear condoms.sex education (=teaching young people about sex): · a refreshing and unusual approach to sex education
if two people make love , they have sex because they like or love each other: · All day they made love on the unmade bed.make love with/to: · She thought about Tom Cruise every time she made love with her boyfriend.
to have sex with someone you are not married to, especially regularly and over a period of time: · She's been sleeping with this guy Mark since the summer.· When did you first find out that Betty and your husband were sleeping together?
to have sex with someone on one occasion, especially because they ask you or persuade you to do so: · I remember the first time we went to bed.go to bed with: · He said he'd give me the job if I went to bed with him.
formal to have sex with someone - used especially in medical or legal contexts: · The doctor asked him when he had last had intercourse.· You are strongly advised to wear a condom while having sexual intercourse.have (sexual) intercourse with: · The victim later claimed that her attacker forced her to have sexual intercourse with him.
especially British, informal to have sex with someone - used especially humorously: · To hear him talk, you'd think he's shagged every woman in town!· All she ever thinks about is shagging.
British informal to have sex with someone - used humorously: · They said she'd bonked every man in college.· My mother walked in and caught us bonking.
to have sex for the first time in your life: · I lost my virginity at the age of seventeen.lose your virginity to: · She had lost her virginity to a law student while at university.
if birds or animals mate , they have sex in order to produce babies: · The birds mate in April and the eggs are hatched by June.a mating call/dance/ritual (=something an animal does when it wants to mate): · Two pigeons performed an elaborate and very noisy mating dance.the mating season/period (=the time of year when animals mate): · During the mating season, foxes become much more vocal.
formal when you have sex with someone - used especially in legal contexts: · Love has nothing to do with sexual relations.sexual relations between: · In most cultures, sexual relations between adults and children are totally unacceptable.
having a strange or wrong shape something that is deformed , especially part of a living thing, has the wrong shape, usually because it has grown or developed wrongly: · She had survived polio, but her right leg was weak and deformed.· The desert plants were strange deformed bushes with bizarrely twisted branches.
something that is distorted has been twisted out of its correct or original shape: · As a result of the crash, the remains of the vehicles were distorted out of all recognition.· After treatment, her distorted hip had straightened, so that her legs were the same length.
having the wrong shape, usually because of growing that way over a long period of time: · The old woman's fingers were misshapen and useless.· Misshapen carrots and potatoes were fed to the pigs.
something that is lopsided does not have the same shape on each side, for example because one side is higher than the other: · She gave me a lopsided smile.· a note written in a child's lopsided handwriting· His whole face was lopsided, one cheek badly scarred.
especially British if something such as a hat, coat, or skirt loses its shape , it becomes the wrong shape because it has been worn a lot: · His battered old hat had completely lost its shape.· She was wearing an old jumper that had lost its shape.
not able to speak to be unable to speak because you are too ill, weak, frightened etc: · I was so terrified, I couldn't speak.· A lump welled up in his throat and he could not speak.
to become unable to speak because of illness, or because you have been using your voice too much: · On the first night of the show, the star of the play lost his voice and couldn't perform.
unable to speak, especially permanently - use this especially in medical contexts: · A stroke left her mute and unable to use her legs.
permanently unable to speak because of a physical condition - many people now consider this word to be offensive: · According to the story, he was struck dumb (=made dumb) by the gods.· She was born deaf and dumb.
to be unable to say anything because you are very surprised, upset etc: · Rimes, who is rarely at a loss for words, was overcome with emotion as she received her award.
to use your time badly to use your time badly, by doing nothing or by doing something that is not useful: · Stop wasting time. We have to finish this today.· I must have wasted two hours trying to fix my car.· Now she feels she's wasted her life.
to not use your time for what you intended, for example because of delays, interruptions etc: · While you're talking, we're losing valuable time.· The work is already behind schedule. The firm's lost at least 45 days through staff illness.
to stop talking about the subject you are supposed to be talking about also go off the subject British · I think we're getting off the subject. Could we get back to the main point, please?· Well, going off the subject a minute, what about that Uri Geller chap?
formal to move away from the main subject that you have been talking or writing about, especially for a short time during a speech or story: · Before we do that, I'd like to digress for a minute and say a word or two about the new books.
if you are talking about something and are sidetracked or get sidetracked , you allow yourself to start talking or thinking about something else, especially something less important: · I was going to ask him, but he got sidetracked by this guy and I never got a chance.· Don't be sidetracked by the way the interviewer asks the questions - just keep making the relevant points.
if you stray from the subject you are talking about, you start talking about other things instead, for example, because you cannot keep your attention on the main subject: · Promise yourself that you'll try not to stray from the issue at hand.· Well, we've strayed quite a way from space exploration.
to talk, especially for a long time, moving from one subject to another without any clear order, so that your listener becomes bored or confused: · In his diary, the Unabomber rambled at length about the evils of technology.ramble on (=ramble continuously and in an annoying way): · I sat down and let him ramble on for a few minutes.
also lose the thread to become confused about or forget the connection between the things you are saying, especially so that you have to stop talking and think about what you want to say next: · The audience's reaction surprised him, and he lost his train of thought for a moment.· I'm sorry, I seem to have lost my thread.lose the thread of something: · Arthur paused, feeling he was beginning to lose the thread of his argument.
spoken say this when you want to continue what you were saying before you were interrupted, but you cannot remember what you were saying: · Thanks for that, Gillian. Now, where was I?· So, where was I? Oh yes, the accession of Henry the Fifth.
to become thinner to become thinner, either because you have been ill or because you want to look more attractive, be healthier etc: · The best way to lose weight is to eat less and do lots of exercise.· I'm really worried about my grandmother -- she's lost a lot of weight recently.lose three kilos/five pounds etc: · Alec lost seven pounds in a week and had to be re-admitted to the hospital.
to eat less food than usual, or to eat only certain foods, because you want to become thinner and weigh less: · "Would you like some chocolate?" "No thanks, I'm on a diet."go on a diet (=start to be on a diet): · We're both going on a diet after Christmas.
especially British to become thinner, especially by eating less and doing more exercise: · She's really slimmed down a lot since I last saw her.slim down to eight stone/100 pounds etc: · He's trying to slim down to eleven stone.
to lose a particular amount of weight quickly: · I'd like to shed a few pounds.· Stone's doctor ordered him to shed some weight and quit smoking.· Gascoigne has shed nearly 6 kilos in pre-season training and looks much fitter.
to become dangerously thin and weak, usually as a result of illness: · There was nothing we could do -- she just wasted away and within six weeks she was dead.· His muscles were slowly wasting away because of his illness.
to become unconscious to become unconscious, for example because you are seriously ill or because a doctor has given you a drug before an operation: · I remember looking down and seeing blood, and then I lost consciousness.· After Atkins collapsed and lost consciousness at work, she was sent to the hospital for a scan.
to become unconscious so that you fall to the ground for a short time, for example because you are very hot or hungry: · One of the soldiers guarding the palace fainted in the heat.· I need to go outside. I feel as if I'm going to faint.· I must have fainted, and when I came to I didn't know where I was.
to become unconscious, usually for a short time, for example because you have had too much to drink, or because you cannot breathe properly: · When I first smoked a cigarette, I almost passed out.· I think the poor guy passed out. It looks like he's had a lot to drink.
to become unconscious for a short time, usually without warning and for no clear reason: · Her father's been having blackouts, and the doctor has ordered a brain scan.· A man grabbed her and put a piece of cloth to her face. That's the last thing she remembers before blacking out.
to gradually become unconscious, especially because you are seriously ill or near to death - used especially in descriptions of events and in stories: · The patient slipped into unconsciousness at around 7 am.· She managed to say a few words before falling into unconsciousness again.
to gradually become unconscious, and remain unconscious for a long time, because you are seriously ill or near to death: · The patient slipped into a coma, and died two days later.· After the accident she fell into a coma, and was on a life support machine for 6 months before regaining consciousness.
to fall and become unconscious, especially because you are very ill: · Come quickly, one of the passengers has collapsed.· After half a dozen glasses of whisky he collapsed and could not be revived.
to not understand something correctly to think that someone means one thing when in fact they mean something else: · I think she misunderstood you.· I'm sorry, I must have misunderstood.· According to Bennett, you misunderstood the reason you were dropped from the list.
a problem caused when someone does not understand something correctly: · There seems to have been a misunderstanding. I didn't order steak.· Cultural differences between people from different countries can sometimes lead to misunderstandings.
to not understand the true meaning of someone's actions or words, so that you believe something that is not in fact true: · Your friendliness could easily be misinterpreted.· A lot of people misinterpreted what I was saying, and have called me a racist.
to wrongly believe that someone's actions show that they have a particular opinion or feeling: · Unfortunately, we misread the situation and lost a lot of sales.· The intelligence community was criticized for misreading Iraq's intentions.
if you miss the point , you think you understand what someone says or what is important about a situation, but in fact you are wrong: · I soon realised that he had completely missed the point.· He's so caught up in the rules that he's missing the point of the game, which is just to have fun.
to be offended or upset by a remark that was not intended to offend or upset you, because you understood it wrongly: · Don't tell Simon that -- he might take it the wrong way.· No, that's not what I meant. You take everything the wrong way.don't take this the wrong way (=say this when you want to give advice or ask something that you think might offend someone): · Don't take this the wrong way, but could I stay at your place tonight?
British an informal expression meaning to make a mistake about one part of something that you are told, so that you understand the rest of it in completely the wrong way: · Maybe I got the wrong end of the stick. I thought she was leaving him, not the other way round.
if two people are at cross-purposes , each of them thinks that they understand what the other is talking about, when in fact they are talking about two different things: · I think we're at cross purposes -- I'm talking about John, not Nigel.
spoken say this when you do not want someone to understand something wrongly or be upset by what you say: · I like Jenny, don't get me wrong, but I do think she acts a little childishly at times.· Don't get me wrong, I love my family, I just don't want to be with them all the time.
British spoken to suddenly be unable to understand what is happening in a situation, especially when people expect you to understand and deal with it: · In the past few days the President seems to have completely lost the plot.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY The business community has lost confidence in the government. Carol lost interest in ballet in her teens. Try not to lose heart (=become sad and hopeless) – there are plenty of other jobs. You’re looking slim. Have you lost weight? The plane emptied its fuel tanks as it started losing altitude. Mr Eyer may lose the sight in one eye. The tour was postponed when the lead singer lost his voice. Julian lost his balance and fell. By the time the ambulance arrived, Douglas had lost consciousness. When he was writing, he lost all sense of time. The government lost by one vote. The Communist candidate lost by a whisker (=a very small amount). Freddie died in 1982 after losing his battle against AIDS. It was thought the manuscript had been lost forever. David’s very upset about losing his job. Hundreds of people lost their homes in the floods. My family lost everything in the war. He was over the limit and will lose his licence. If you hesitate, you may lose the opportunity to compete altogether. He lost his leg in a motorcycle accident. He’s lost a lot of blood but his life is not in danger. Sadly, Anna lost the baby (=her baby died before it was born). He lost his father to cancer (=his father died of cancer) last year. Peter was lost at sea when his ship sank. Creditors and investors stand to lose (=risk losing) vast sums after the company’s collapse. A lot of people lost their shirts (=lost a lot of money) on Ferraris in the eighties. The working class has nothing to lose but its chains (=disadvantages, restrictions etc). Vital minutes were lost because the ambulance took half an hour to arrive. In 1978, 29 million days were lost in industrial action. Come on, there’s no time to lose (=do not waste time). He has lost his composure under the pressure of the situation. Excessive drinking can make you lose control of your own life. The Democrats lost control of Congress in the last election. Davidson lost control of himself and started yelling. Old people need to retain their dignity and independence. People tend to lose their inhibitions when they’ve drunk a lot of alcohol. The government must not lose the initiative in the fight against terrorism. Bates says he will lose his livelihood if his driving licence is taken away. When she lost her looks (=became less attractive) she found it difficult to get work. It cost the country $4 million in lost productivity. Strikes have cost £20 million in lost revenues. She wondered if she was losing her sanity. Life seemed to have lost its savour for him. What do firms think they stand to gain by merging? Celtic are on a six-game winning streak. His mind wandered, and he lost the thread of what she was saying (=was no longer able to understand it). Malory won the toss and will serve. I lost touch with (=stopped writing or talking to) Julie after we moved. King obviously hasn’t lost his touch (=lost his ability) – his latest book sold in the millions. I just lost all track of time.
The business community has lost confidence in the government. Carol lost interest in ballet in her teens. Try not to lose heart (=become sad and hopeless) – there are plenty of other jobs. (=stop having as much respect from other people) A settlement was reached in which neither side lost face.
A settlement was reached in which neither side lost face. You’re looking slim. Have you lost weight? The plane emptied its fuel tanks as it started losing altitude. Mr Eyer may lose the sight in one eye. The tour was postponed when the lead singer lost his voice. Julian lost his balance and fell. (=become less skilled at doing something you used to do well) This latest movie proves Altman is by no means losing his touch.
This latest movie proves Altman is by no means losing his touch. By the time the ambulance arrived, Douglas had lost consciousness. When he was writing, he lost all sense of time. (=forget an important fact about a situation) We must never lose sight of the fact that man must work in harmony with nature.
We must never lose sight of the fact that man must work in harmony with nature. The government lost by one vote. The Communist candidate lost by a whisker (=a very small amount). Freddie died in 1982 after losing his battle against AIDS. It was thought the manuscript had been lost forever. British English, be/get lost in the mail American English The parcel must have got lost in the post.
The parcel must have got lost in the post. (=stop knowing where someone or something is) He lost track of her after her family moved away.
He lost track of her after her family moved away. (=stop being able to see someone or something) Don’t try to walk in a heavy snowstorm as you may lose sight of your vehicle.
Don’t try to walk in a heavy snowstorm as you may lose sight of your vehicle. David’s very upset about losing his job. Hundreds of people lost their homes in the floods. My family lost everything in the war. He was over the limit and will lose his licence. If you hesitate, you may lose the opportunity to compete altogether. He lost his leg in a motorcycle accident. He’s lost a lot of blood but his life is not in danger. Sadly, Anna lost the baby (=her baby died before it was born). He lost his father to cancer (=his father died of cancer) last year. Peter was lost at sea when his ship sank. Creditors and investors stand to lose (=risk losing) vast sums after the company’s collapse. A lot of people lost their shirts (=lost a lot of money) on Ferraris in the eighties. The working class has nothing to lose but its chains (=disadvantages, restrictions etc). (=used to say that you could make your situation much worse) These youngsters know they have too much to lose by protesting against the system.
These youngsters know they have too much to lose by protesting against the system. Vital minutes were lost because the ambulance took half an hour to arrive. In 1978, 29 million days were lost in industrial action. Come on, there’s no time to lose (=do not waste time). (=do something immediately) Murdock lost no time in taking out a patent for his invention.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES Murdock lost no time in taking out a patent for his invention. (=no longer speak with an accent)· After 9 years in London, Ben had lost his French accent.
· I wanted to write to him, but I’ve lost his address.
· Unless she wins her appeal she will be imprisoned.
· She was so miserable that she completely lost her appetite.
· The party hopes to win the argument about how to reform the health system.· The first one who resorts to violence is usually the one who’s lost the argument.
· He’s worried that he is losing his authority over the party.
(=have a baby that dies when it is born too soon)· She was three months pregnant when she lost the baby.
(=become unsteady)· She nearly lost her balance as the bus suddenly moved forward.
· a brave little girl who lost her battle against cancer
(=one that is going to fail)· She was fighting a losing battle to stop herself from crying.
· If I have a bet, I always lose it.
(=from a cut or wound)· He had lost a lot of blood and was very weak.
· His favourite shirt had lost a button.
(=no longer be able to control its direction)· He lost control of the car on a sharp bend.
(=be successful or unsuccessful in proving someone guilty or not guilty)· Lomax was a brilliant lawyer who had never lost a case.
· We lost the championship on the last day.
(=not use an opportunity)· He missed a chance to score just before half time.
· He was getting older, and travel was losing its charm.
· The enemy was losing command of the situation.
He has lost his composure under the pressure of the situation.· Halfway through the game, he seemed to lose concentration.
· Employees are losing confidence in the company.
· He’d been out of work for six months and had lost all his confidence.
(=go into a type of deep sleep that is not normal)· As she fell, she hit her head and lost consciousness for several minutes.
(=no longer see someone or hear from them)· She moved to Spain and I lost contact with her.
· He won a public-speaking contest at his school.
Excessive drinking can make you lose control of your own life. The Democrats lost control of Congress in the last election. Davidson lost control of himself and started yelling.· Both of our major political parties are losing credibility.
· The company has lost some big customers in the last two years.
(=not get it back)· If there is any damage to the apartment, you may lose your deposit.
Old people need to retain their dignity and independence. (=lose an advantage that you had)· He’s had a lot of injuries and lost a lot of his competitive edge.
· If the party loses the election, they may decide they need a new leader.
· The diet started well, but I lost enthusiasm after a while.
· Local people have lost faith in the police.
· He always won every fight he was in at school.
(=be unable to keep standing or balancing) The girl lost her footing and fell about 150 feet.
The girl lost her footing and fell about 150 feet. (=lose a lot of money)· He lost a fortune in an unwise business deal.
· A.C. Milan won the game with a last-minute goal.· Arsenal lost the game because of a mistake by their goalkeeper.
(=accidentally let go of something)· He shoved Higgins out of the way without losing his grip on the gun.
(=become bald)· He was a small, round man who was losing his hair.
(=become unable to hear)· He lost his hearing as a child after suffering scarlet fever.
(=move higher or lower in the sky) The plane was rapidly losing height.
The plane was rapidly losing height. (=stop hoping)· After so long without any word from David, Margaret was starting to lose hope.
(=get rid of it)· The party struggled to lose its image of being somewhat old-fashioned.
(=have less effect)· The picture loses impact when it is reduced in size.
· The island lost its importance when trade routes changed.
People tend to lose their inhibitions when they’ve drunk a lot of alcohol. The government must not lose the initiative in the fight against terrorism. (=stop being interested)· Tilda had lost interest in what was being said.
· At least there’s no danger of you losing your job.
· He proved that he hadn't lost the knack for scoring goals.
· She won a discrimination lawsuit against her former company.
(=the leaves come off the tree)· Most trees shed their leaves in the autumn.
· The police caught him driving while drunk and he will now lose his licence.
(=die)· Hundreds of people lost their lives on the first day of the fighting.
Bates says he will lose his livelihood if his driving licence is taken away. When she lost her looks (=became less attractive) she found it difficult to get work.· The Republicans lost their narrow majority in Congress at the midterm elections.
· He lost by only a narrow margin.
· They lost the match, despite playing very well.
(=become unable to remember things that happened in the past)· The blow on the head caused him to lose his memory.
(=to start to become less successful)· The team seems to have lost its momentum.
(=not make a profit, so that you then have less money)· The movie didn’t attract audiences and lost money for the studio.
(=suddenly lose the courage or confidence to do something)· I wanted to ask him the question, but I lost my nerve.
(=not do something you have a chance to do)· Dwyer never missed an opportunity to criticize her.
(=one you do not use)· Many people see the failed talks as a missed opportunity for peace.
· Do you think the Labour Party can win the next election?
· Eventually his family lost patience with him and his irresponsible behaviour.
· People sometimes lose perspective on what is really important in life.
· If he’s got the answer wrong, he loses 250 points.
· We only lost by two points.
(=win or lose a fight because of the judges’ decision)· He was knocked down twice, before losing on points.
· I'm afraid the cheque must have got lost in the post.
· He was a brilliant speaker, who never lost the power to influence people.
It cost the country $4 million in lost productivity.· He did not win another race that season.
(=no longer know about ordinary things or what is possible)· If all you have is the show-business world, you kind of lose touch with reality.
(=no longer respect them)· She had lost all respect for him.
(=no longer be respected by them)· Once a child knows you have lied, you will lose their respect.
Strikes have cost £20 million in lost revenues. (=fail to sell something)· Harry lost the sale because he was not persistent enough.
She wondered if she was losing her sanity. Life seemed to have lost its savour for him. formal (=be drowned in the sea)· His father had been lost at sea three months before.
· She lost her seat at the last election.
· Come on! Have you lost your sense of humour?
· He seemed to have lost all sense of proportion.
· I think I’m losing my sense of smell.
· As the result of a severe illness, she lost her sight at the age of twelve.
(=slow down without wanting to)· The engine made a strange sound and we lost speed.
What do firms think they stand to gain by merging? Celtic are on a six-game winning streak.· Everyone on the winning team will get a medal.
(=become angry)· It was hot and I was beginning to lose my temper.
His mind wandered, and he lost the thread of what she was saying (=was no longer able to understand it). (=no longer have it)· Many of the men had lost all their teeth by the age of 40.
Malory won the toss and will serve. I lost touch with (=stopped writing or talking to) Julie after we moved. King obviously hasn’t lost his touch (=lost his ability) – his latest book sold in the millions. I just lost all track of time. (=have sex for the first time)
(=lose the ability to speak, for example when you have a cold)· I'll have to whisper because I've lost my voice.
· The Allies had won the war.· What would have happened if we’d lost the war?
· He lost his way in the fog.
· She lost a lot of weight when she was ill.
· The country's troops had lost the will to fight.
(=the time long ago when you were young)· He wept for his lost youth.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB· Many of these will be lost forever, before they have even been named.· But that Spring Hill may be lost forever, some residents say.· In the process, many irrecoverable secrets of nature are being lost forever.· It's estimated that each day another three species are lost forever.
· It has never lost an artist from its record label, supposedly because it consists of many small and friendly individual companies.· First, and foremost, the Cardinal almost never lose at home.· I've never lost my belief in myself.· Some one else invested your profit-sharing for you, and made sure that you never lost and almost always gained.· Here's the chap on the white horse again, he never loses his feathers.· Once humans had invented civilization, they never lost it.· He never, never, never loses control.· Still, I never lost that desire to be-come a cheerleader.
NOUN· It makes you so sick that you lose the baby.· She must not lose Peter's baby.· He took care of this lost baby.· A woman stood up and sang her song to her lost baby.· Francis is among a number of hospitals nationwide now offering ceremonies to help families remember their lost babies.
· She nearly lost her balance, and cried out in terror.· He put his arms around her waist and pulled her so hard she lost her balance.· If all banks sell securities, they will all lose deposits and balances as their own customers buy securities.· Dropping the wing, Mungo swung round, losing his balance.· Finally I tried from the east, lost my balance, and fell in.· Within a few moments you will start to lose your balance.· His mind slipped into some thought of his son, and he lost his balance.
· Although already gravely ill, she posed for this graduation picture just days before losing her battle against cancer.· Nor can we underestimate the consequences of losing the battle to poor eating and exercise habits.· The 61-year-old electrician died on Monday night after losing a long battle against cancer.· In 1986, Lynott lost the battle and passed on.· But they were losing the battle.· It may be, in the long run, more productive to lose the battle but win the war.· Alone and imprisoned, Mungo lost the battle with his imagination.· You may be carrying the scars of lost battles and broken dreams.
· He also knew that the next few minutes could lose what chance had so miraculously delivered up to him at long last.· The obvious implication is that many asylum seekers may miss the deadline and lose the chance to appeal.· Although the company lost, chances of success would be greatly improved under the proposed legislation.· But by failing to register in time you will have lost the chance of being given preference in allocation.· Players had to check their egos or lose their last chance.· If you hesitate too long you may lose your chance.
· Meanwhile, prison conditions have deteriorated and the public has lost confidence in the criminal justice system.· He was beginning to believe the coaches had lost confidence in him.· He was a gentle man by nature, but he would suddenly fall into a depression and lose all confidence in himself.· Almost overnight I seemed to lose all my confidence.· Conversation was lagging, and it seemed to me that Mrs McLaren was tiring and might lose confidence.· Employees themselves are losing confidence in the company, analysts said.· It only takes a couple of players to have mediocre starts for them and they will be down there and lose confidence.· The government lost will and confidence.
· Drake was the only team that offered a real challenge, and Oregon lost that game.· We haven't lost in 13 league games 8 of which are wins.· It would have been very easy for the Cats to lose that game.· The other big losers of the day were the Houston Oilers, who had already lost games they should have won.· The club has lost six of nine games, three in a row and all three this spring to the Braves.· The Bruins had lost tournament games as favorites three times in the previous four years.· His teams lost all five games.
· They decide to go, too, but Frank has problems manoeuvring the car, whose tyres keep losing their grip.· If Perelman succeeded, Gutfreund, for the first time, would lose his grip on the firm.· Half way through, the film loses its grip on the day-to-day reality in Northern Ireland.· Niyazov does not appear to be losing his grip.· I had made loops to go over her wrists, I told her, so that she wouldn't lose her grip.· Even if front and rear wheels are losing grip, the unit favors the set with the least amount of grab.· He began a forlorn final game by losing his grip on the racket altogether.· If the car begins to fishtail, the back wheels have lost grip.
· They lost 5-1 at home to Northampton.· The people who are losing their homes belong to a settled community with centuries-old traditions.· Many of these immigrants had suffered the loss of their wealth and privilege in addition to the trauma of losing their home.· But they've lost eight home matches this season, one of the worst records in the division.· He lost his parents and home, he was separated from his siblings.· I can not understand people who continue to vote Conservative after they have lost their homes or their jobs, or both.· And it would be a major upset for the Minutemen to lose a game at home.
· Was it fear of losing her job?· In the end, Offerman lost his job.· His brother lost his job, and descended into the abyss.· At the same time, white-collar spenders fear losing their jobs.· A bad interviewer can give a potentially excellent employee such a negative impression that he or she loses interest in the job.· Many strikers had lost their jobs, through permanent replacements.· This means telling workers that they may well lose their jobs if the company can no longer make effective use of them.· So much so that the picture editor, who had approved it, lost his job.
· This was in the heady days of 1978, when I first lost my leg, when very flared trousers were in.· One poor fellow.... lost both legs by a cannon ball.· In real combat he would have lost at least one leg at the knee.· I know he lost his legs first, and then his fingers-he died alone and it hurt like hell.· Four people lost one or both legs, and another lost an arm.· My grandfather had lost his leg in a stockyard accident.· Bouchard lost a leg to flesh-eating bacteria in 1994.· Why, in losing his leg and the few horses in his charge, he had lost his boyish good humor.
· Secondly the poem speaks of the lost opportunities for life among those who once passed on the old road but are dead.· It was no simple task to complete; one workman, thrown into the raging rapids below almost lost his life.· But you have nothing to lose - your life was being made a misery anyway.· We mourn the tens of millions of people who lost their lives.· You lose control of your life.· Some lost their lives in panic while trying to scramble aboard crowded ships.· They begin to lose life and become puppets.· But it was a frightful ordeal and six of the crew lost their lives there.
· The bullet was deep in my arm, and I lost a lot of blood.· We had a lot of adversity last year, some injuries, and we lost a lot of close games.· It also gives especial aid to poorer areas that lost a lot of income in the changeover.· You have to lose lots of frontal lobe, or lots of language cortex.· We lost a lot of men.· Good, I hope you lose a lot more sleep.· He's lost a lot of blood.· Working a regular job, you lose a lot of time with them.
· Some people, and you may be one, slowly and partially pick up their lives after losing their love.· She was not just a lost love, or a found love either.· The centre court crowd seemed to have lost their love for Venus.· Other parents fear that they may displease, and therefore lose the love of, their children if they are too strict.· To lose love through death is hard but understandable; to lose love and not understand why is intolerable.· She never lost her love of the West, and I admire that.· To lose love through death is hard but understandable; to lose love and not understand why is intolerable.· I lost the love of acting and singing.
· If they break off their constant peregrinations, their voice seizes up and they lose their memory.· My fingerprints will not lose their memory.· As a result of the instability and interactions, the pattern rapidly loses any detailed memory of its initial state.· Is she losing her memory as well as her teeth?· In losing its design memory, it seems, Ford forgot what customers wanted.· He has a disease that causes him to lose his memory.· I read about it in Vogue ... how it makes you lose your memory.· They lose long-ago memories as well as failing to store new memones.
· Since 1991, when it lost $ 151 million, National has improved each year, earning $ 264 million in 1995.· The deal went sour and Coles lost A $ 18 million.· Analysts had estimated the Arlington-based airline would lose $ 75 million, or $ 1.12 per share.· The derivatives trading business lost $ 32 million in the quarter, compared with $ 28 million in profits a year earlier.· Loan were sued by the federal government for lax oversight, which the government said caused taxpayers to lose $ 941 million.· Apple recently lost $ 69 million in what should have been a profitable Christmas quarter.· In the first nine months of last year, it lost $ 29 million.· At this rate, Huizenga proposed, he might lose $ 30 million for the season.
· He lost sleep, his mind churning, piling up imaginary complaints and magnifying them.· The musicians are completely losing their minds.· Is Roberto correct when he insists that he is innocent and she has lost her mind?· What is not bogus is the position Selda Soyturk is in today because a guy lost his mind behind the wheel.· We start to lose control of our minds in the same way that muscular tension is often out of our control.· Some victims feel they are losing their minds or are about to die.· One was suffering from deep depression, the other believed he was beginning to lose control of his mind.· PipThe Negro cabin boy who loses his mind when abandoned temporarily in the sea.
· Be prepared to lose your money.· If the cost is more than the government allows, the hospital loses money.· They would probably lose some money, power.· If profits are negative, some firms will be driven out from the industry until the remaining firms do not lose money.· The investors lost most of their money.· In the late seventies, savings and loans began to lose depositors to money market funds, which offered higher returns.· These days, universities can not afford to lose money, however intelligently.· In the end, Dan made money and Lou lost money.
· Secondly the poem speaks of the lost opportunities for life among those who once passed on the old road but are dead.· It would be stupid, though, to lose the opportunity that all of this presents.· It was a lost opportunity, but you can't change some people overnight.· For them, lost opportunities on the ocean are hard to replace with other jobs.· Thus, a person who becomes a slave loses this opportunity.· The concern in 1970 was that women were losing ground in educational opportunities.· It would be terrible if you lost this opportunity.
· The Conservatives suffered the biggest reversal of fortunes losing two seats in their North Down power base.· While Brown lost eight seats in a heavily Republican year, Lockyer only lost one.· Although they lost 10 seats, they're still in control and that's now the only Conservative-controlled County in the country.· If Republicans lose 21 seats, the Democrats will regain control of the House.· The Government are deeply concerned that they may lose seats south of the border as a result of the community charge.· The U.S. lost its seat on the panel last month.· The Liberal Democrats lost 38 seats in the lower house of parliament in June elections.· Second-term presidents historically lose their luster and energy by year six, and their party loses seats in Congress.
· Schüssler Fiorenza believes that a people that has no history loses its sense of itself.· Lurching along in this enclosed space, one loses all sense of direction.· She would jump off a board and lose all sense of where she was.· We have lost of a sense of great books, for instance.· They lose their keen sense of smell and direction when the wind picks up like this.· We lose a sense of an owl being an owl, a duck being duck, an oak being an oak tree.
· I have no time for people who lose their temper with animals but something snapped in my mind then.· He ached with anger at himself for losing his temper once again.· I then walked across to the photographers and lost my temper, lost my head.· That was plainly evident in the locker room, where Hostetler teetered on the brink of openly losing his temper.· Then, one day, she had lost her temper, completely, suddenly and, even to herself, shockingly.· As the argument escalated, Faison lost his temper completely and told Alvin that he wanted to leave the company.· With the prospect of putting four points between themselves and the chasing Leeds, United lost their tempers - and their lead.· When I reflected on all this later I knew that I just should not have lost my temper.
· He tried to lose himself in the war.· Thirty-five percent of all draught animals were lost, if Civil War casualties are included.· Rather than compromise in any way on the slavery issue, the South preferred to lose the war.· For the Treasury this presented a golden opportunity to recover its traditional dominance which it had lost during the war.· We will lose some of those wars.· The Tories, the victors in the battle of ideas, look like losing the political war.· Not a single stealth pilot was lost in the brief war.
· Research has proved that we can eat more carbohydrate calories than fat calories and still lose weight!· They starved themselves and chewed gum laced with laxatives to lose weight.· I've lost weight by eating healthier meals.· Since it was drawn, Kaczynski had aged, broken his nose and lost weight.· You really can change your shape, lose weight and improve your confidence.· If I want to lose a little weight I just tend to stop eating for a while.· Seven children who were above the third percentile had recently lost weight or were failing to thrive.· As one observer put it, our governments are like fat people who must lose weight.
VERB· A certain amount of mental arousal is necessary but too much causes you to lose confidence in your own abilities.· Your investments should not cause you to lose sleep at night.· It would cause an outcry and lose votes including mine.· The Raiders are realizing the depth of their despair, caused by losing three of their first four games.· Criticism should never cause the recipient to lose face, inner dignity or self-respect.· Loan were sued by the federal government for lax oversight, which the government said caused taxpayers to lose $ 941 million.· It is one of those moments in a recital that could cause a singer to lose nerve.· He has a disease that causes him to lose his memory.
· But her thoughts seemed to get lost in the heat.· And in this sense, the great capitalist wave seems to have lost little of its power.· There are many volumes un-numbered and many which were numbered seem to have been lost or given away.· But more recently his results seems to have lost some of their luster.· By the late 1930s the legal realist movement seemed to have lost its way.· The right-brain compensatory ability seems to be lost for most of us sometime in the preschool years.· My hair seems to have lost some of its colour as I've got older.· Most of his papers seem lost.
· The trusts stand to lose direct grants from the councils.· But if prices decline, you stand to lose more as well.· Hence a director of a company may stand to lose financially even though the company has limited liability.· What does the publisher or author stand to lose?· One report suggested off-course bookmakers stood to lose as much as £100,000.· In fact, we stand to lose everything.· Assuming that Short had been playing it straight, then there remained the question of who stood to lose if Pendero won.· After all, she was the one who stood to lose most.
· One trains horrendously hard, one runs terrifically fast, one wins or loses.· He has decided that the election will be won or lost on social issues in the electoral middle ground.· Fortunes can be won or lost on a guess about bad weather as the contest between speculators moves back and forth.· Everyone wins some and loses some, but the losers can always win on the next issue.· If you start to feel sorry enough to let some one else win, you lose your honesty.· Who will win and who will lose these struggles is not a foregone conclusion.· You made your bets and either you won or you lost.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRYPHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES► the lost-and-found► there’s no time to lose
- I completely lose my bearings when I go outside the city.
- The Congressional black caucus has lost its way since Republicans took over Congress.
- When my wife left me, I kind of lost my bearings for a while.
- Among right-wing circles this perception simply intensified their existential feeling of Angst, of having lost their bearings.
- But somehow, in the zeal to get re-elected, we lost our way.
- He had lost his bearings on a trip to nearby shops a few weeks earlier.
- He lit another cigarette and left, losing his way at the end of the corridor.
- I am about to lose my way.
- John had a mission to become an entrepreneur, but he went out without a road map and almost lost his way.
- She claimed she had somehow been placed on an ocean liner that had lost its way at sea.
- A lot of producers have lost touch with what makes good music.
- Over the years we just lost touch with each other.
- Command economies are usually so centralized that they lose touch with the differences and complexities of individual firms and consumers.
- De Lavallade drifted away from Alvin, although they never completely lost touch.
- Employees and their managers lost touch with their customers and fiefdoms arose.
- I was begin-ning to lose touch with my body, floating away to distant places.
- It is also very easy to lose touch.
- Salibi says that the Massoretes had lost touch with the language of the Bible and made many distortions.
- She said she had lost touch with him.
- Those who pay for education, for example, may lose touch with what is taught and with the methods used.
- Bunny wasn't the only one to lose his temper.
- He obviously had impregnation on his mind, but by now Lydia had lost her temper and she told him to get stuffed.
- I should not have lost my cool and behaved in that manner.
- I then walked across to the photographers and lost my temper, lost my head.
- Never-absolutely never in my experience-did President Reagan really lose his temper or utter a rude or unkind word.
- She couldn't blame him for frightening Anna, for losing his temper with the child.
- That was plainly evident in the locker room, where Hostetler teetered on the brink of openly losing his temper.
- Why did he always choose to lose his temper over issues in which he was in the wrong?
- Actually, not all of the men had lost their heads.
- Buckingham lost his head over the matter.
- But he must not lose his head and try to make up the distance all at once.
- But you lose your head in this crazy hellhole, you do, and different rules apply.
- He made a sort of feeble pretence of being afraid that he might lose his head.
- I must be losing my head, she thought.
- The bull market in bonds finally lost its head of steam.
- There was always something around the corner if you didn't lose your head.
- What are you doing on the roof? Have you lost your mind?
- Either she was losing her mind, or she'd followed the wrong man.
- Is Roberto correct when he insists that he is innocent and she has lost her mind?
- Obviously she was losing her mind.
- PipThe Negro cabin boy who loses his mind when abandoned temporarily in the sea.
- Some victims feel they are losing their minds or are about to die.
- The musicians are completely losing their minds.
- There came a day shortly afterwards when I could no longer ignore the fact that he was losing his mind.
- What is not bogus is the position Selda Soyturk is in today because a guy lost his mind behind the wheel.
- After her mom and dad were killed in the car accident, Ginny just seemed to lose it.
- Pete just lost it completely and started shouting and screaming at us.
- Whatever Brad said must have made her angry because she totally lost it.
- If they lose it, they will probably lose their majority.
- In fact we had never lost it.
- Love, love that had always held pain through fear of losing it but had finally become a torment.
- Maybe he had lost it when running away from the fracas of metal and hollow clacking of gunfire.
- Poor guy, he lost it.
- They will not know why you have lost it.
- Why try and pressurize myself into losing it?
- You really lose it when you get around your family.
- Small children have the ability to lose themselves in imaginary worlds.
- A generation loses itself in an inner world of feeling and self-awareness, oblivious of outside forces.
- A line of track ran one way to nothing and lost itself in nothing in the other direction.
- And though she longed to lose herself in the flames, to be consumed and reborn, she was also terribly afraid.
- He had never been able to lose himself in a crowd, or dash off somewhere suddenly on a whim.
- Like the owl, it could lose itself in the forest.
- Men say I am a saInt losing myself in politics.
- Perfecting themselves, though, there is little chance that they will lose themselves in anyone else.
- It probably loses something in the translation from the original Latin.
- Hundreds of people lost their lives when the ship overturned in a storm.
- Over 100 soldiers lost their lives.
- Supporters continue to visit the site where Colosio lost his life to an assassin's bullet.
- Almost losing his life in his effort at reformation, Andrew joined the Theatines.
- At least ninety-three people lost their lives in the first days of fighting.
- Between 1641 and 1651 more than one in five adult males bore arms perhaps one in twenty lost their lives.
- I don't come within an inch of losing my life every day.
- It was no simple task to complete; one workman, thrown into the raging rapids below almost lost his life.
- Many princes tried and failed, and so they lost their lives.
- Nearly 80 journalists, photographers, and associated staff have lost their lives here since May 1993, killed by the fundamentalists.
- We mourn the tens of millions of people who lost their lives.
- As the underdog here, they have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
- But you have nothing to lose - your life was being made a misery anyway.
- For a meeting or two, they have nothing to lose.
- If you are not sure whether you will be entitled to benefit, remember that you have nothing to lose by applying.
- The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains.
- You have nothing to lose but your monotony.
- You have nothing to lose by taking action in the small claims court.
- You have nothing to lose by trying out possible futures for size-it just requires an imaginative leap.
- I was trying to get to the A22 and lost my bearings a bit in all the country lanes.
- She soon lost her bearings in the dense forest.
- We lost our bearings in the fog and ended up 30 miles from home.
- When Kelly left, the company began to lose its bearings.
- Among right-wing circles this perception simply intensified their existential feeling of Angst, of having lost their bearings.
- But as the world grew unfamiliar, I began to lose my bearings.
- He had lost his bearings on a trip to nearby shops a few weeks earlier.
- If you lost your bearings down here you might never get out.
- Perhaps it was exhausted, perhaps it had lost its bearings in the thick fog.
- Sam was a real gentleman who never lost his cool.
- But she was not the only one who was losing her cool.
- Gable lost his cool with his pal Spencer Tracy who often tested the patience of his peers.
- He lost his cool and kicked out two stumps during a frustrating day when he beat the bat consistently.
- I should not have lost my cool and behaved in that manner.
- In this situation, it hardly ever helps if you start shouting or losing your cool.
- Kenneth finally lost his cool with a photographer this morning, and threatened to hit him.
- Sometimes she lost her cool and I thought she stepped out of her role as therapist.
- Be quiet - you made me lose count!
- I've been trying to keep a record of how many tickets we've sold, but I've lost count.
- I lost count after a hundred.
- Francis had lost count of the junctions and side-passages they had crossed.
- He had little idea as to how far they had come and had lost count of how many times they had fallen.
- I've no idea, I lost count of time.
- I, too, have lost count of the number of jobs I've applied for.
- She counted them; she lost count.
- She had lost count of the number of times she had slapped his hands from her body whenever he waylaid her outside.
- The Wormwood Scrubs prison houses are still empty after 10 or 12 years - I have lost count.
- Then two and afterwards he'd lose count.
- Rather than giving in and losing face, she carried on her needless quarrel with her father.
- The government suffered a severe loss of face when details of the scandal emerged.
- The leaders need to find a way of compromising without losing face among their supporters.
- They want to negotiate a ceasefire without either side losing face.
- Better to lose face and be open about not understanding the cryptic message, than to lose sleep at night over it.
- Criticism should never cause the recipient to lose face, inner dignity or self-respect.
- Eventually the policeman was prepared to lose face.
- No government likes to lose face like that.
- Senior managers can not afford to lose face too often and will bide their time to re-assert their authority.
- The country is asked to pay the price of the Government's overriding concern that they should not lose face.
- The vital thing was not to lose face.
- Thus the other follows because she does not want to lose face with her white friend.
- And yet despite all this the pounds were creeping up on us and we seemed to be fighting a losing battle.
- Even with the addition of the Morning Post to the publishing empire in 1924, Die-hard journalism was fighting a losing battle.
- For most of these people they were fighting a losing battle.
- He tried hard to do this, but he was fighting a losing battle here against the rising tide of papal authority.
- The 84-year-old Oscar-winner has been fighting a losing battle against failing sight for the past year.
- The windscreen wipers sounded asthmatic, fighting a losing battle against the insistent rain.
- Under the present conditions of economic recession, regional policies are fighting a losing battle.
- Why couldn't she see she was fighting a losing battle?
- After much searching, the village people gave Kay up for dead.
- Gray had been missing for over a year, and his wife was ready to give him up for dead.
- It is as if he gave them up for dead when they left Shiloh.
- On the thirteenth day, Kasturbai knelt before a sacred plant and prayed; she had given him up for lost.
- Unfortunately, lately her mother seems to have lost her grip on reality.
- Half way through, the film loses its grip on the day-to-day reality in Northern Ireland.
- He began a forlorn final game by losing his grip on the racket altogether.
- He lost his grip and fell into the car's path.
- I had made loops to go over her wrists, I told her, so that she wouldn't lose her grip.
- If Perelman succeeded, Gutfreund, for the first time, would lose his grip on the firm.
- Niyazov does not appear to be losing his grip.
- They decide to go, too, but Frank has problems manoeuvring the car, whose tyres keep losing their grip.
- Whilst cutting her garden hedge with a chainsaw one recent summer, a woman slipped and lost her grip.
- American students lost ground in achievement levels in math and science between the 1970s and 1980s.
- Elsewhere, Islamism remains an opposition force only, and, though still potent, is losing ground.
- Shares of major banks lost ground.
- The concern in 1970 was that women were losing ground in educational opportunities.
- The radicals have steadily lost ground to the moderates since then.
- Therefore, even in those first moments, he had lost ground, was starting to fall behind himself.
- Without Samson's monumental strength, the smiths seemed to lose ground.
- Woosnam lost ground with a 73 and admits that he is' not in the groove at all.
- Actually, not all of the men had lost their heads.
- Buckingham lost his head over the matter.
- But he must not lose his head and try to make up the distance all at once.
- But you lose your head in this crazy hellhole, you do, and different rules apply.
- He made a sort of feeble pretence of being afraid that he might lose his head.
- I must be losing my head, she thought.
- The bull market in bonds finally lost its head of steam.
- There was always something around the corner if you didn't lose your head.
- I had lost my heart to the little, golden flowers that brightened the meadows like a thousand suns.
- This very thing was only one of the reasons why he had never wanted to lose his heart to anyone.
- There's no love lost between Bart and Stephen.
- He's girl crazy! He went to a boys' school and now he's making up for lost time.
- The bus driver was speeding to make up for lost time.
- After a century or so of political apathy, Hong Kong's young people were making up for lost time.
- He was eager to make up for lost time and published prolifically.
- Meanwhile Keith and Mae are settling down to married life, making up for lost time.
- None the less, we immediately started our other meetings to make up for lost time.
- Once I settled into my new life, I did everything I could to make up for lost time.
- Time to make up for lost time.
- The old boy had lost his marbles somewhere along the line.
- The runner in question hasn't lost his marbles - he's just upholding an old and well-loved Lincolnshire tradition.
- And, for some reason lost in the mists of time, we need to do that.
- What actually transpired upon the outbreak of the Civil War is lost in the mists of time it would seem.
- And in our sandwich, the grated cheese, when melted, got lost in the shuffle of the other ingredients.
- The theory, however, broke down; both customers and employees got lost in the shuffle.
- It's just a practice game - I wouldn't lose any sleep over it.
- And so I lose sleep over mute facts and frayed ends and missing witnesses.
- Have you ever lost sleep over them?
- In any case, Ari, don't lose sleep over any big hotel being built here.
- As the argument escalated, Faison lost his temper completely.
- You should never lose your temper with the students - it'll only make things worse.
- Bunny wasn't the only one to lose his temper.
- Did he ever lose his temper, raise his voice?
- He ached with anger at himself for losing his temper once again.
- He obviously had impregnation on his mind, but by now Lydia had lost her temper and she told him to get stuffed.
- It worked, however, as it had worked when Eng lost his temper about some performing he thought listless.
- Once the door is closed, Mami loses her temper.
- Then, one day, she had lost her temper, completely, suddenly and, even to herself, shockingly.
- Why did he always choose to lose his temper over issues in which he was in the wrong?
- I followed the map, keeping track of our position so I could radio in our coordinates if we went down.
- Nitrogen use will be more problematic, but precision farming will enable farmers to keep track of field nutrient balances.
- Nobody could keep track of all the winners.
- North wanted to have Waite wired to keep track of his movements electronically, but Waite, very sensibly, refused.
- She'd lost track of it while she was dealing with Anna.
- She keeps track of magazine subscription renewals on a 10-by-12-inch card.
- Write down the names of people you meet, and then keep track of them.
- Davidson won the election by a whisker.
- He finished second in the 1988 Superstars, losing by a whisker in the final event.
- In a race that was ultimately won by a whisker, the Powell effect may even have made the difference for Bush.
- Win or lose, the future looks bright for Jones.
- Aside from team coordination, tactics play a huge part in determining whether you are on the winning or losing side.
- Dole is going to win or lose the election on his own.
- I may win or lose, but the way of life is easy and it loves me.
- The machines nauseate me whether I win or lose.
- They decide whether you win or lose.
WORD FAMILYnounloserlossadjectivelostverblose
1stop having attitude/quality etc [transitive] to stop having a particular attitude, quality, ability etc, or to gradually have less of it: I’ve lost my appetite.lose confidence/interest/hope etc The business community has lost confidence in the government. Carol lost interest in ballet in her teens. Try not to lose heart (=become sad and hopeless) – there are plenty of other jobs.lose face (=stop having as much respect from other people) A settlement was reached in which neither side lost face.lose weight/height/speed etc You’re looking slim. Have you lost weight? The plane emptied its fuel tanks as it started losing altitude.lose your sight/hearing/voice/balance etc Mr Eyer may lose the sight in one eye. The tour was postponed when the lead singer lost his voice. Julian lost his balance and fell.lose your touch (=become less skilled at doing something you used to do well) This latest movie proves Altman is by no means losing his touch. By the time the ambulance arrived, Douglas had lost consciousness.lose all sense of time/direction/proportion etc When he was writing, he lost all sense of time.lose sight of something (=forget an important fact about a situation) We must never lose sight of the fact that man must work in harmony with nature.2not win [intransitive, transitive] to not win a game, argument, election, war etc OPP win: They played so badly they deserved to lose. Klinger lost his seat in the election. Arkansas just lost three games in a row. He just can’t bear to lose an argument.lose to The Beavers have dropped only one game since losing to Oregon in January.lose (something) by 1 goal/10 votes/20 points etc The government lost by one vote. The Communist candidate lost by a whisker (=a very small amount). Freddie died in 1982 after losing his battle against AIDS.lose somebody something It was a rash decision, and it lost him the race (=caused him to lose the race).3cannot find something [transitive] to become unable to find someone or something: I’ve lost the tickets for tonight’s show. I followed her on foot, but lost her in the crowd. It was thought the manuscript had been lost forever.be/get lost in the post British English, be/get lost in the mail American English The parcel must have got lost in the post.lose track of something/somebody (=stop knowing where someone or something is) He lost track of her after her family moved away.lose sight of something/somebody (=stop being able to see someone or something) Don’t try to walk in a heavy snowstorm as you may lose sight of your vehicle. → lost property4stop having something [transitive] if you lose something that is important or necessary, you then no longer have it, especially because it has been taken from you or destroyed: David’s very upset about losing his job. Hundreds of people lost their homes in the floods. My family lost everything in the war. He was over the limit and will lose his licence. Ninety naval aircraft were lost and thirty damaged.lose a chance/opportunity If you hesitate, you may lose the opportunity to compete altogether.lose something to somebody/something We were losing customers to cheaper rivals. She was about to lose her husband to a younger woman. California has lost 90% of its wetlands to development.lose an arm/leg/eye etc He lost his leg in a motorcycle accident. He’s lost a lot of blood but his life is not in danger.lose somebody something the mistakes which lost him his kingdom (=caused him to lose his kingdom)5death [transitive] a)lose your life to die: a memorial to honor those who lost their lives in the war b)if you lose a relative or friend, they die – use this when you want to avoid saying the word ‘die’: One woman in Brooklyn lost a husband and two sons in the gang wars. Sadly, Anna lost the baby (=her baby died before it was born).lose somebody to cancer/AIDS etc He lost his father to cancer (=his father died of cancer) last year. Peter was lost at sea when his ship sank.6money [intransitive, transitive] if you lose money, you then have less money than you had beforelose on The company is in debt after losing an estimated $30 million on its dotcom enterprise. Creditors and investors stand to lose (=risk losing) vast sums after the company’s collapse. A lot of people lost their shirts (=lost a lot of money) on Ferraris in the eighties. It’s a great deal – we can’t lose!lose somebody something The stock market crash lost the banks £70 million (=caused them to lose £70 million).7have nothing to lose spoken if you have nothing to lose, it is worth taking a risk because you cannot make your situation any worse: You might as well apply for the job – you’ve got nothing to lose.have nothing to lose but your pride/reputation etc The working class has nothing to lose but its chains (=disadvantages, restrictions etc).have a lot/too much to lose (=used to say that you could make your situation much worse) These youngsters know they have too much to lose by protesting against the system.8time [transitive] a)if you lose time, you do not make progress as quickly as you want to or shouldlose time/2 days/3 hours etc Vital minutes were lost because the ambulance took half an hour to arrive. In 1978, 29 million days were lost in industrial action. Come on, there’s no time to lose (=do not waste time).lose no time in doing something (=do something immediately) Murdock lost no time in taking out a patent for his invention. b)if a watch, clock etc loses time, it runs too slowly and shows an earlier time than it should OPP gain9lose your way/bearings a)to stop knowing where you are or which direction you should go in: I lost my way in the network of tiny alleys. b)to become uncertain about your beliefs or what you should do: The company seems to have lost its way of late.10lose touch (with somebody/something) a)if two people lose touch, they gradually stop communicating, for example by no longer phoning or writing to each other: I’ve lost touch with all my old school friends. They lost touch when Di got married and moved away. b)if you lose touch with a situation or group, you are then no longer involved in it and so do not know about it or understand it: They claim the prime minister has lost touch with the party. It sometimes appears that the planners have lost touch with reality.11lose your temper/cool/rag to become angrylose with Diana was determined not to lose her temper with him.12lose your head to become unable to behave calmly or sensibly: You’ve all heard that Nadal lost his head over a girl?13lose your mind to become crazy SYN go crazy, go mad: Nicholas looked at her as if she’d lost her mind.14lose it spoken informal a)to become very angry and upset: She completely lost it with one of the kids in class. b) (also lose the plot) to become crazy or confused: I could see people thinking I’d totally lost the plot.15lose yourself in something to be paying so much attention to something that you do not notice anything else: She listened intently to the music, losing herself in its beauty.16escape [transitive] if you lose someone who is chasing you, you manage to escape from them: There’s a better chance of losing him if we take the back route.17confuse somebody [transitive] spoken informal to confuse someone when you are trying to explain something to them: Explain it again – you’ve lost me already.18remove something [transitive] to remove a part or feature of something that is not necessary or wanted: You could lose the last paragraph to make it fit on one page.19lose something in the translation/telling to be less good than the original form: The joke loses something in the translation. → lost2, → lose count at count2(3), → lose sleep over something at sleep2(4)lose out phrasal verb to not get something good, valuable etc because someone else gets it instead: The deal will ensure that shareholders do not lose out financially.lose out to He lost out to Roy Scheider for the lead role.lose out on Workers who don’t take up training may lose out on promotion.