lose Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. verb fail to keep or to maintain; cease to have, either physically or in an abstract sense
    • She lost her purse when she left it unattended on her seat
  2. verb fail to win
    • We lost the battle but we won the war
  3. verb suffer the loss of a person through death or removal
    • She lost her husband in the war
    • The couple that wanted to adopt the child lost her when the biological parents claimed her
  4. verb place (something) where one cannot find it again
    mislay; misplace.
    • I misplaced my eyeglasses
  5. verb miss from one's possessions; lose sight of
    • I've lost my glasses again!
  6. verb allow to go out of sight
    • The detective lost the man he was shadowing after he had to stop at a red light
  7. verb fail to make money in a business; make a loss or fail to profit
    turn a loss.
    • I lost thousands of dollars on that bad investment!
    • The company turned a loss after the first year
  8. verb fail to get or obtain
    • I lost the opportunity to spend a year abroad
  9. verb retreat
    drop off; fall back; fall behind; recede.
  10. verb fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
    miss.
    • I missed that remark
    • She missed his point
    • We lost part of what he said
  11. verb be set at a disadvantage
    suffer.
    • This author really suffers in translation

WordNet

Lose transitive verb
Etymology
OE. losien to loose, be lost, lose, AS. losian to become loose; akin to OE. leosen to lose, p. p. loren, lorn, AS. leósan, p. p. loren (in comp.), D. verliezen, G. verlieren, Dan. forlise, Sw. förlisa, förlora, Goth. fraliusan, also to E. loose, a & v., L. luere to loose, Gr. , Skr. l to cut. Cf. Analysis, Palsy, Solve, Forlorn, Leasing, Loose, Loss.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Losing
Definitions
  1. To part with unintentionally or unwillingly, as by accident, misfortune, negligence, penalty, forfeit, etc.; to be deprived of; as, to lose money from one's purse or pocket, or in business or gaming; to lose an arm or a leg by amputation; to lose men in battle.
    Fair Venus wept the sad disaster Of having lost her favorite dove. Prior.
  2. To cease to have; to possess no longer; to suffer diminution of; as, to lose one's relish for anything; to lose one's health.
    If the salt hath lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted ? Matt. v. 13.
  3. Not to employ; to employ ineffectually; to throw away; to waste; to squander; as, to lose a day; to lose the benefits of instruction.
    The unhappy have but hours, and these they lose. Dryden.
  4. To wander from; to miss, so as not to be able to and; to go astray from; as, to lose one's way.
    He hath lost his fellows. Shak
  5. To ruin; to destroy; as destroy; as, the ship was lost on the ledge.
    The woman that deliberates is lost. Addison.
  6. To be deprived of the view of; to cease to see or know the whereabouts of; as, he lost his companion in the crowd.
    Like following life thro' creatures you dissect, You lose it in the moment you detect. Pope
    .
  7. To fail to obtain or enjoy; to fail to gain or win; hence, to fail to catch with the mind or senses; to miss; as, I lost a part of what he said.
    He shall in no wise lose his reward. Matt. x. 42.
    I fought the battle bravely which I lost, And lost it but to Macedonians. Dryden.
  8. To cause to part with; to deprive of. R.
    How should you go about to lose him a wife he loves with so much passion ? Sir W. Temple.
  9. To prevent from gaining or obtaining.
    O false heart ! thou hadst almost betrayed me to eternal flames, and lost me this glory. Baxter.
Lose intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To suffer loss, disadvantage, or defeat; to be worse off, esp. as the result of any kind of contest.
    We 'll . . . hear poor rogues Talk of court news; and we'll talk with them too, Who loses and who wins; who's in, who's out. Shak.

Webster 1913