to come to be without (something in one's possession or care), through accident, theft, etc., so that there is little or no prospect of recovery: I'm sure I've merely misplaced my hat, not lost it.
to fail inadvertently to retain (something) in such a way that it cannot be immediately recovered: I just lost a dime under this sofa.
to suffer the deprivation of: to lose one's job; to lose one's life.
to be bereaved of by death: to lose a sister.
to fail to keep, preserve, or maintain: to lose one's balance; to lose one's figure.
(of a clock or watch) to run slower by: The watch loses three minutes a day.
to give up; forfeit the possession of: to lose a fortune at the gaming table.
to get rid of: to lose one's fear of the dark; to lose weight; She needs to lose those bangs!
to bring to destruction or ruin (usually used passively): Ship and crew were lost.
to condemn to hell; damn.
to have slip from sight, hearing, attention, etc.: to lose him in the crowd.
to stray from or become ignorant of (one's way, directions, etc.): to lose one's bearings.
to leave far behind in a pursuit, race, etc.; outstrip: She managed to lose the other runners on the final lap of the race.
to use to no purpose; waste: to lose time in waiting.
to fail to have, get, catch, etc.; miss: to lose a bargain.
to fail to win (a prize, stake, etc.): to lose a bet.
to be defeated in (a game, lawsuit, battle, etc.): He has lost very few cases in his career as a lawyer.
to cause the loss of: The delay lost the battle for them.
to let (oneself) go astray, miss the way, etc.: We lost ourselves in the woods.
to allow (oneself) to become absorbed or engrossed in something and oblivious to all else: I had lost myself in thought.
(of a physician or other medical personnel) to fail to preserve the life of (a patient): The doctor came out of the operating room and sadly said, “So sorry. We lost him.”
(of a woman) to fail to be delivered of (a live baby) because of miscarriage, complications in childbirth, etc.
verb (used without object),lost,los·ing.
to suffer loss: to lose on a contract.
to suffer defeat or fail to win, as in a contest, race, or game: We played well, but we lost.
to depreciate in effectiveness or in some other essential quality: a classic that loses in translation.
(of a clock, watch, etc.) to run slow.
Verb Phrases
lose out,to suffer defeat or loss; fail to obtain something desired: He got through the preliminaries, but lost out in the finals.
Idioms for lose
lose face. face (def. 53).
lose it, Informal. to suddenly lose control of one's emotions: When he said he loved me, I nearly lost it.
Origin of lose
before 900; Middle English losen,Old English -lēosan; replacing Middle English lesen, itself also reflecting Old English -lēosan; cognate with German verlieren,Gothic fraliusan to lose. See loss
OTHER WORDS FROM lose
re·lose,verb (used with object),re·lost,re·los·ing.
WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH lose
loose, loosen, lose , loss
Words nearby lose
Los Altos, Los Angeles, losartan potassium, Los Banos, Loschmidt's number, lose, lose face, lose ground, lose heart, lose it, losel