lose */*/*/

lose */*/*/
UK [luːz] / US [luz] verb
Word forms "lose":
present tense I/you/we/they lose he/she/it loses present participle losing past tense lost UK [lɒst] / US [lɔst] past participle lost
Get it right: lose:
Don't confuse lose (a verb) and loose (an adjective).
Lose is a verb meaning "to stop having something". It is spelled with only one "o" and is pronounced /luːz/:
Wrong: She was afraid of loosing him.
Right: She was afraid of losing him.
Loose is an adjective meaning "not tight" or "not firmly fixed". It is spelled with a double "o" and is pronounced differently, /luːs/: Christina was dressed in shorts and a loose cotton shirt.
1)
a) [transitive] to stop having something because it has been taken from you or destroyed

Mike lost his job last year.

Register now and don't lose your right to vote.

The family lost everything when their home burned down.

lose someone something (= make someone lose something):

An unreasonably high exchange rate lost them export markets.

lose something to someone:

They feared losing the sale to a rival company.

b) to stop having someone working for or with you because they have left

I hope you decide not to accept their offer, because we'll be sorry to lose you.

2) [transitive] to be unable to find someone or something

I've lost my bag. Have you seen it?

You can easily lose a child in a busy street.

3) [intransitive/transitive] to not win a race, competition, fight etc

"How did you do in the quiz?" "We lost."

lose to/against someone:

England lost 2–1 to Germany.

lose by something:

They lost by only one point.

lose someone something (= make someone lose something):

Those comments may well have lost them the election.

4)
a) [transitive] to have less of something than before because some of it has gone

The plane lost cabin pressure and everyone had to use oxygen masks.

b) to become thinner and weigh less
lose 5 pounds/3kg/2 stone etc:

I lost 3kg when I was ill.

lose weight:

He's lost a lot of weight recently.

5) [transitive] if you lose a member of your family or a friend, they die

She lost her son in a car accident.

6) [transitive] if you lose time or an opportunity or chance, you use it up or waste it

a plan to reduce the amount of working time lost through sickness

He must realize that an outstanding opportunity has been lost.

There's no time to lose (= used for saying that it is necessary to do something as quickly as possible because the situation is urgent).

7) [transitive] to no longer have the natural ability to see, hear, remember etc

He lost his sight in an accident.

He'd lost his memory as a result of a stroke.

8) [transitive] to not have part of your body any longer, for example because of an accident, illness, or age

Peter lost a leg in a climbing accident.

He started losing his hair in his late twenties.

9) [transitive] to stop having a positive feeling, quality, or attitude

Jane started to lose interest in her schoolwork.

Many people have lost faith in the police force.

We've lost all hope of finding him alive.

10) [transitive] to make less money than you spend or invest

The company lost more than £5 million last year.

11) [transitive] to manage to escape from someone who is following you
12) [transitive] to make someone confused when you are trying to explain something to them

I'm sorry, you've lost me there. Who's Andrew?

13) [transitive] if a clock or watch loses time, it is operating too slowly and shows a time that is earlier than the correct time
•

have a lot/too much to lose — to be in a position where something bad might happen if you are not successful

They are reluctant to get involved in this, they've got a lot to lose.

lose your balance/footing — to suddenly fall or almost fall

lose something in translation/interpretation etc — to not be as effective or accurate when translated or performed in another way etc

lose touch (with something) — to not know the most recent information about something, so that you no longer understand it completely

I've lived in the US for 10 years, so I've somewhat lost touch with British politics.

lose touch/contact (with someone) — to not know where someone is or what they are doing because you have not talked to or communicated with them for a long time

If you've lost touch with a friend or neighbour we can help you find them.

lose track (of) — to no longer know where someone or something is or what is happening

I've lost track of what she's doing now.

Phrasal verbs:
See:
count II, mind I

English dictionary. 2014.

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  • Lose — (l[=oo]z), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Lost} (l[o^]st; 115) p. pr. & vb. n. {Losing} (l[=oo]z [i^]ng).] [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.) …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • lose — [lo͞oz] vt. lost, losing [ME losen, lesen, merging OE losian, to lose, be lost (< los, LOSS) + leosan, to lose, akin to OHG (vir)liosan, Goth (fra)liusan < IE base * leu , to cut off, separate > Gr lyein, to dissolve; L luere, to loose,… …   English World dictionary

  • lose — ► VERB (past and past part. lost) 1) be deprived of or cease to have or retain. 2) become unable to find. 3) fail to win. 4) earn less (money) than one is spending. 5) waste or fail to take advantage of. 6) ( …   English terms dictionary

  • Lose — Lose, r, ste, adj. et adv. welches die Bedeutungen der Wörter los, leicht und liederlich in sich zu vereinigen scheinet. Es bedeutet, 1. In mehr eigentlichem Verstande. 1) * Nicht die gehörige Festigkeit habend, in welcher aber los ohne e… …   Grammatisch-kritisches Wörterbuch der Hochdeutschen Mundart

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  • lose — [v1] be deprived of; mislay be careless, become poorer, be impoverished, bereave, be reduced, capitulate, consume, default, deplete, disinherit, displace, dispossess, dissipate, divest, drain, drop, exhaust, expend, fail, fail to keep, fall short …   New thesaurus

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