Adjacent Words

Lose definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

LOSE, v.t. looz. pret. and pp. lost.
1. To mislay; to part or be separated from a thing, so as to have no knowledge of the place where it is; as, to lose a book or a paper; to lose a record; to lose a dollar or a ducat.
2. To forfeit by unsuccessful contest; as, to lose money in gaming.
3. Not to gain or win; as, to lose a battle, that is, to be defeated.
4. To be deprived of; as, to lose men in battle; to lose an arm or leg by a shot or by amputation; to lose one's life or honor.
5. To forfeit, as a penalty. Our first parents lost the favor of God by their apostasy.
6. To suffer diminution or waste of.
If the salt hath lost its savor, wherewith shall it be salted? Matthew 5.
7. To ruin; to destroy.
The woman that deliberates is lost.
8. To wander from; to miss, so as not to be able to find; as, to lose the way.
9. To bewilder.
Lost in the maze of words.
10. To possess no longer; to be deprived of; contrary to keep; as, to lose a valuable trade.
11. Not to employ or enjoy; to waste. Titus sighed to lose a day.
Th' unhappy have but hours, but these they lose.
12. To waste; to squander; to throw away; as, to lose a fortune by gaming, or by dissipation.
13. To suffer to vanish from view or perception. We lost sight of the land at noon. I lost my companion in the crowd.
Like following life in creatures we dissect, we lost it in the moment we detect.
14. To ruin; to destroy by shipwreck, etc. the albion was lost on the coast of Ireland, april 22, 1822. the admiral lost three ships in a tempest.
15. To cause to perish; as, to be lost at sea.
16. to employ ineffectually; to throw away; to waste. Instruction is often lost on the dull; admonition is lost on the profligate. It is often the fate of projectors to lose their labor.
17. to be freed from.
His scaly back the bunch has got which Edwin lost before.
18. to fail to obtain.
He shall in no wise lose his reward. Matthew 5.
to lose one's self, to be bewildered; also, to slumber; to have the memory and reason suspended.
LOSE, v.i. looz.
1. To forfeit any thing in contest; not to win.
We'll talk with them too, who loses and who wins; who's in, who's out.
2. To decline; to fail.
Wisdom in discourse with her loses discountenanced, and like folly shows.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: 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" [ant: hold on, keep]
2: fail to win; "We lost the battle but we won the war" [ant: win]
3: 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: place (something) where one cannot find it again; "I misplaced my eyeglasses" [syn: misplace, mislay, lose]
5: miss from one's possessions; lose sight of; "I've lost my glasses again!" [ant: find, regain]
6: allow to go out of sight; "The detective lost the man he was shadowing after he had to stop at a red light"
7: fail to make money in a business; make a loss or fail to profit; "I lost thousands of dollars on that bad investment!"; "The company turned a loss after the first year" [syn: lose, turn a loss] [ant: break even, profit, turn a profit]
8: fail to get or obtain; "I lost the opportunity to spend a year abroad" [ant: acquire, gain, win]
9: retreat [syn: fall back, lose, drop off, fall behind, recede] [ant: advance, gain, gain ground, get ahead, make headway, pull ahead, win]
10: fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind; "I missed that remark"; "She missed his point"; "We lost part of what he said" [syn: miss, lose]
11: be set at a disadvantage; "This author really suffers in translation" [syn: suffer, lose]

Merriam Webster's

verb (lost; losing) Etymology: Middle English, from Old English losian to perish, lose, from los destruction; akin to Old English l?osan to lose; akin to Old Norse losa to loosen, Latin luere to atone for, Greek lyein to loosen, dissolve, destroy Date: before 12th century transitive verb 1. a. to bring to destruction — used chiefly in passive construction <the ship was lost on the reef> b. damn <if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul — Matthew
16:26 (Authorized Version)> 2. to miss from one's possession or from a customary or supposed place 3. to suffer deprivation of ; part with especially in an unforeseen or accidental manner 4. a. to suffer loss through the death or removal of or final separation from (a person) b. to fail to keep control of or allegiance of <lose votes> <lost his temper> 5. a. to fail to use ; let slip by ; waste <no time to lose> b. (1) to fail to win, gain, or obtain <lose a prize> <lose a contest> (2) to undergo defeat in <lost every battle> c. to fail to catch with the senses or the mind <lost what she said> 6. to cause the loss of <careless statements lost him the election> 7. to fail to keep, sustain, or maintain <lost my balance> 8. a. to cause to miss one's way or bearings <lost himself in the maze of streets> b. to make (oneself) withdrawn from immediate reality <lost herself in daydreaming> 9. a. to wander or go astray from <lost his way> b. to draw away from ; outstrip <lost his pursuers> 10. to fail to keep in sight or in mind 11. to free oneself from ; get rid of <dieting to lose weight> <thinks he should lose the toupee> 12. slang regurgitate, vomit — often used in such phrases as lose one's lunch intransitive verb 1. to undergo deprivation of something of value 2. to undergo defeat <lose with good grace> 3. of a timepiece to run slow • losable adjective • losableness noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. (past and past part. lost) 1 tr. be deprived of or cease to have, esp. by negligence or misadventure. 2 tr. a be deprived of (a person, esp. a close relative) by death. b suffer the loss of (a baby) in childbirth. 3 tr. become unable to find; fail to keep in sight or follow or mentally grasp (lose one's way). 4 tr. let or have pass from one's control or reach (lose one's chance; lose one's bearings). 5 tr. be defeated in (a game, race, lawsuit, battle, etc.). 6 tr. evade; get rid of (lost our pursuers). 7 tr. fail to obtain, catch, or perceive (lose a train; lose a word). 8 tr. forfeit (a stake, deposit, right to a thing, etc.). 9 tr. spend (time, efforts, etc.) to no purpose (lost no time in raising the alarm). 10 intr. a suffer loss or detriment; incur a disadvantage. b be worse off, esp. financially. 11 tr. cause (a person) the loss of (will lose you your job). 12 intr. & tr. (of a timepiece) become slow; become slow by (a specified amount of time). 13 tr. (in passive) disappear, perish; be dead (was lost in the war; is a lost art). Phrases and idioms: be lost (or lose oneself) in be engrossed in. be lost on be wasted on, or not noticed or appreciated by. be lost to be no longer affected by or accessible to (is lost to pity; is lost to the world). be lost without have great difficulty if deprived of (am lost without my diary). get lost sl. (usu. in imper.) go away. lose one's balance 1 fail to remain stable; fall. 2 fail to retain one's composure. lose one's cool colloq. lose one's composure. lose face be humiliated; lose one's credibility. lose ground see GROUND(1). lose one's head see HEAD. lose heart be discouraged. lose one's heart see HEART. lose one's nerve become timid or irresolute. lose out (often foll. by on) colloq. be unsuccessful; not get a fair chance or advantage (in). lose one's temper become angry. lose time allow time to pass with something unachieved etc. lose touch see TOUCH. lose track of see TRACK(1). lose the (or one's) way become lost; fail to reach one's destination. losing battle a contest or effort in which failure seems certain. lost cause 1 an enterprise etc. with no chance of success. 2 a person one can no longer hope to influence. lost generation 1 a generation with many of its men killed in war, esp. that of 1914-18. 2 an emotionally and culturally unstable generation coming to maturity, esp. in 1915-25. Derivatives: losable adj. Etymology: OE losian perish, destroy f. los loss

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Lose Lose, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Losing.] [OE. losien to loose, be lost, lose, AS. losian to become loose; akin to OE. leosen to lose, p. p. loren, lorn, AS. le['o]san, p. p. loren (in comp.), D. verliezen, G. verlieren, Dan. forlise, Sw. f["o]rlisa, f["o]rlora, Goth. fraliusan, also to E. loose, a & v., L. luere to loose, Gr. ?, Skr. l? to cut. [root]127. Cf. Analysis, Palsy, Solve, Forlorn, Leasing, Loose, Loss.] 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. To lose ground, to fall behind; to suffer gradual loss or disadvantage. To lose heart, to lose courage; to become timid. ``The mutineers lost heart.'' --Macaulay. To lose one's head, to be thrown off one's balance; to lose the use of one's good sense or judgment. In the excitement of such a discovery, many scholars lost their heads. --Whitney. To lose one's self. (a) To forget or mistake the bearing of surrounding objects; as, to lose one's self in a great city. (b) To have the perceptive and rational power temporarily suspended; as, we lose ourselves in sleep. To lose sight of. (a) To cease to see; as, to lose sight of the land. (b) To overlook; to forget; to fail to perceive; as, he lost sight of the issue.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Lose Lose, v. i. 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.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(loses, losing, lost) Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English. 1. If you lose a contest, a fight, or an argument, you do not succeed because someone does better than you and defeats you. A C Milan lost the Italian Cup Final... The government lost the argument over the pace of reform... No one likes to be on the losing side. VERB: V n, V n, V-ing 2. If you lose something, you do not know where it is, for example because you have forgotten where you put it. I lost my keys... I had to go back for my checkup; they'd lost my X-rays. VERB: V n, V n 3. You say that you lose something when you no longer have it because it has been taken away from you or destroyed. I lost my job when the company moved to another state... She was terrified they'd lose their home. VERB: V n, V n 4. If someone loses a quality, characteristic, attitude, or belief, they no longer have it. He lost all sense of reason... He had lost his desire to live. VERB: V n, V n 5. If you lose an ability, you stop having that ability because of something such as an accident. They lost their ability to hear... He had lost the use of his legs. VERB: V n, V n 6. If someone or something loses heat, their temperature becomes lower. Babies lose heat much faster than adults... VERB: V n 7. If you lose blood or fluid from your body, it leaves your body so that you have less of it. During fever a large quantity of fluid is lost in perspiration. VERB: V n 8. If you lose weight, you become less heavy, and usually look thinner. I have lost a lot of weight... Martha was able to lose 25 pounds. VERB: V n, V n 9. If you lose a part of your body, it is cut off in an operation or in an accident. He lost a foot when he was struck by a train. VERB: V n 10. If someone loses their life, they die. ...the ferry disaster in 1987, in which 192 people lost their lives... Hundreds of lives were lost in fighting. VERB: V n, V n 11. If you lose a close relative or friend, they die. My Grandma lost her brother in the war. VERB: V n 12. If things are lost, they are destroyed in a disaster. ...the famous Nankin pottery that was lost in a shipwreck off the coast of China. VERB: usu passive, be V-ed 13. If you lose time, something slows you down so that you do not make as much progress as you hoped. They claim that police lost valuable time in the early part of the investigation... Six hours were lost in all. VERB: V n, V n 14. If you lose an opportunity, you do not take advantage of it. If you don't do it soon you're going to lose the opportunity... They did not lose the opportunity to say what they thought of events. ...a lost opportunity. VERB: V n, V n to-inf, V-ed 15. If you lose yourself in something or if you are lost in it, you give a lot of attention to it and do not think about anything else. Michael held on to her arm, losing himself in the music... He was lost in the contemplation of the landscape. = absorb VERB: V pron-refl in n, be V-ed in n 16. If a business loses money, it earns less money than it spends, and is therefore in debt. (BUSINESS) His shops stand to lose millions of pounds... VERB: V n 17. If something loses you a contest or loses you something that you had, it causes you to fail or to no longer have what you had. My own stupidity lost me the match... His economic mismanagement has lost him the support of the general public. VERB: V n n, V n n 18. see also lost 19. If someone loses it, they become extremely angry or upset. (INFORMAL) I completely lost it. I went mad, berserk. PHRASE: V inflects 20. If you lose your way, you become lost when you are trying to go somewhere. The men lost their way in a sandstorm. PHRASE: V inflects 21. to lose your balance: see balance to lose the battle but win the war: see battle to lose contact: see contact to lose your cool: see cool to lose face: see face to lose your grip: see grip to lose your head: see head to lose heart: see heart to lose your mind: see mind to lose your nerve: see nerve to lose the plot: see plot to lose sight of: see sight to lose your temper: see temper to lose touch: see touch to lose track of: see track

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. a. 1. Be deprived of, fail to keep, let slip, let slip through the fingers. 2. Forfeit, fail to win, fail to obtain. 3. Waste, squander, misspend, throw away, make no use of. 4. Deprive, dispossess of. 5. Displace, dislodge, displant. 6. Miss, wander from. 7. Perplex, bewilder, confuse. 8. Ruin, destroy. 9. Be bereaved of, be deprived of. II. v. n. 1. Forfeit, fail to win, be defeated. 2. Succumb, decline, fail, suffer by comparison, yield.

Moby Thesaurus

be bereaved of, be found wanting, be unsuccessful, bereave, bite the dust, bow, bow to, capitulate, clear, come to grief, consume, decline, default, disinherit, displace, dispossess, dissipate, divest, draw a blank, drop, elude, escape, evade, exhaust, expend, fail, fail of success, fall, flunk, flunk out, forfeit, forget, fritter away, give the slip, give up, go astray from, go bankrupt, go down, go under, have enough, incur loss, kiss good-bye, labor in vain, let slip, lick the dust, lose out, lose sight of, lose the day, mislay, misplace, miss, not come off, not pass, not remember, not work, oust, part with, relinquish, rid, rob, sacrifice, say uncle, shake off, slip, spend, spill, squander, succumb, suffer loss, surrender, take the count, throw off, trifle away, tumble, unburden, undergo privation, use up, wander from, waste, yield