LOSE (lost)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected form: lost   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does lose mean? 

• LOSE (verb)
  The verb LOSE has 10 senses:

1. fail to keep or to maintain; cease to have, either physically or in an abstract sense

2. fail to win

3. suffer the loss of a person through death or removal

4. miss from one's possessions; lose sight of

5. allow to go out of sight or mind

6. fail to make money in a business; make a loss or fail to profit

7. fail to get or obtain

8. fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind

9. withdraw, as from reality

10. be set at a disadvantage

  Familiarity information: LOSE used as a verb is familiar.

 Dictionary entry details 

• LOSE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they lose    ... he / she / it loses   
Past simple: lost   
Past participle: lost   
-ing form: losing   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Fail to keep or to maintain; cease to have, either physically or in an abstract sense

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Context example:

She lost her purse when she left it unattended on her seat

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "lose"):

white-out; whiteout (lose daylight visibility in heavy fog, snow, or rain)

sleep off (get rid of by sleeping)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Sentence example:

They lose the money

Antonym:

keep (retain possession of)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Fail to win

Classified under:

Verbs of fighting, athletic activities

Context example:

We lost the battle but we won the war

"Lose" entails doing...:

compete; contend; vie (compete for something; engage in a contest; measure oneself against others)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "lose"):

go down (be defeated)

drop (lose (a game))

remain down; take the count (be counted out; remain down while the referee counts to ten)

drop one's serve (lose a game in which one is serving)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s to somebody

Antonym:

win (be the winner in a contest or competition; be victorious)

Derivation:

loser (a gambler who loses a bet)

loser (a contestant who loses the contest)

loser (a person with a record of failing; someone who loses consistently)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Suffer the loss of a person through death or removal

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Context example:

The couple that wanted to adopt the child lost her when the biological parents claimed her

Hypernyms (to "lose" is one way to...):

suffer (experience (emotional) pain)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Sense 4

Meaning:

Miss from one's possessions; lose sight of

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Context example:

I've lost my glasses again!

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "lose"):

forget; leave (leave behind unintentionally)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Antonym:

find (come upon after searching; find the location of something that was missed or lost)

Derivation:

losings (something lost (especially money lost at gambling))

Sense 5

Meaning:

Allow to go out of sight or mind

Classified under:

Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling

Context example:

the lost tribe

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Sense 6

Meaning:

Fail to make money in a business; make a loss or fail to profit

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Synonyms:

lose; turn a loss

Context example:

The company turned a loss after the first year

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Sentence example:

They lose the money

Antonym:

break even (make neither profit nor loss)

profit (make a profit; gain money or materially)

Derivation:

loser (a gambler who loses a bet)

losings (something lost (especially money lost at gambling))

Sense 7

Meaning:

Fail to get or obtain

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Context example:

I lost the opportunity to spend a year abroad

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "lose"):

mislay; misplace (place (something) where one cannot find it again)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s something to somebody

Antonym:

win (win something through one's efforts)

Sense 8

Meaning:

Fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind

Classified under:

Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling

Synonyms:

lose; miss

Context example:

We lost part of what he said

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "lose"):

overlook (look past, fail to notice)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Sense 9

Meaning:

Withdraw, as from reality

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Context example:

he lost himslef in his music

Hypernyms (to "lose" is one way to...):

seclude; sequester; sequestrate; withdraw (keep away from others)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s somebody

Sense 10

Meaning:

Be set at a disadvantage

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

lose; suffer

Context example:

The painting loses something in this light

Hypernyms (to "lose" is one way to...):

decline; worsen (grow worse)

Verb group:

suffer (get worse)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s
Something is ----ing PP

 Context examples 

He knew only hate and lost himself in the passion of it.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

However, it is not currently known how or why these brain cells lose function, particularly in the terminal stage of these illnesses.

(New Mechanisms Found of Cell Death in Neurodegenerative Disorders, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Then she felt for the little piece of wood; but when she unwrapped the cloth it was not there, and she saw she had lost the gift of the good stars.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

After accounting for age, sex, race and baseline weight, the researchers found that the people who lost the least weight during the calorie-reduced period were those whose metabolism decreased the most during fasting.

(Ease of weight loss influenced by individual biology, NIH)

You are a willful child, and you've lost more than you know by this piece of folly.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

Those who had been treated with probiotic supplements lost significantly more weight – but the authors did not quantify how much.

(Supplements of 'Good Bacteria' Can Enhance Weight Loss in Dieters, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

I felt then, for the first time, that I had lost Peggotty.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

"We wish to go to the Emerald City," said the child, "and we have lost our way."

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

They may lose their ability to solve problems or control their emotions.

(Dementia, NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)

You have played a rather dangerous game, and it strikes me that you have lost it.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)