Lose /(lo͡oz)/

Lose

v. t.

imp. & p. p. Lost; p. pr. & vb. n. Losing

  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.
  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.
  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.
  5. To ruin; to destroy; as destroy; as, the ship was lost on the ledge.
    The woman that deliberates is lost.
  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.
  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.
  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?
  9. To prevent from gaining or obtaining.
    O false heart! thou hadst almost betrayed me to eternal flames, and lost me this glory.
    — Baxter.
    In the excitement of such a discovery, many scholars lost their heads.
    — Whitney.

Phrases & Compounds
To lose ground
to fall behind; to suffer gradual loss or disadvantage.
To lose heart
to lose courage; to become timid.
To lose one's head
to be thrown off one's balance; to lose the use of one's good sense or judgment, through fear, anger, or other emotion.

Lose

v. i.
  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.