lose

lose [ luz ] (past tense and past participle lost [ lɔst ] ) verb ***

▸ 1 stop having something

▸ 2 be unable to find

▸ 3 not win

▸ 4 have less than before

▸ 5 when someone dies

▸ 6 no longer see/hear etc.

▸ 7 not have body part

▸ 8 stop having quality etc.

▸ 9 waste time/opportunity

▸ 10 not make a profit

▸ 11 escape from someone

▸ 12 confuse someone

▸ 13 when clock is too slow

▸ + PHRASES

1. ) 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.

a ) 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 purse. Have you seen it?

We were frantic because we lost Ben in the store.

3. ) intransitive or transitive to not win a race, competition, fight, etc.:

How did you do in the quiz? We lost.

lose to/against someone: The Rams lost 24 14 to the Giants.

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.

─ opposite WIN

4. ) 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.

a ) transitive to become thinner and weigh less:

I lost 5 pounds when I was sick.

lose weight: He's lost a lot of weight recently.

b ) lose height if a plane loses height, it moves down to a lower level in the sky, usually because of a problem

5. ) transitive if you lose a member of your family, they die:

She lost her son in a car accident.

a ) lose a baby if a woman loses a baby, the baby dies before it is born

b ) lose someone to something if you lose someone to something such as a disease, they die as a result of it:

She lost her mother to cancer.

6. ) transitive to not have the natural ability to see, hear, remember, etc. anymore:

He lost his sight in an accident.

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

a ) lose consciousness to become unconscious, for example because you are sick or have been hit on the head

b ) lose your mind to become crazy and start behaving in a strange way

c ) lose your voice to be unable to speak for a period of time, for example because you have a cold

7. ) transitive to not have part of your body anymore, 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.

8. ) 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.

We've lost all hope of finding him alive.

a ) lose your nerve to suddenly become too frightened to do something you intended to do

b ) lose your temper to suddenly become angry

9. ) 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).

a ) lose no time in doing something to do something immediately:

She lost no time in telling Sonia what had happened.

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

someone can't lose SPOKEN

used for saying that someone will definitely succeed, whatever they decide to do

have a lot/too much to lose

to be in a position where something bad might happen if you are not successful

have nothing to lose

if you have nothing to lose, you can try something because even if you fail it will not make your situation any worse, but you might gain if you succeed

lose your balance/footing

to suddenly fall or almost fall

lose the battle but win the war

to not achieve a minor victory but at the same time succeed in achieving something much more important

lose count

1. ) to forget a total when you are counting something:

Don't talk to me or I'll lose count.

2. ) used for saying that you do not know how many things there are or how many times something has happened, because there are so many:

I've lost count of the times he's asked to borrow money.

lose face

to no longer impress people or be respected by them, especially by showing that you are not in control of a situation

lose ground

to go into a position where you are less strong, advanced, or successful than someone else:

He led from lap one but then lost ground after several pit stops.

lose your head

to become so upset or worried that you stop thinking clearly or behaving in a sensible way

lose heart

to stop believing that you can succeed

lose your heart to someone LITERARY

to start to love someone very much

lose something in translation/interpretation etc.

to not be as effective or accurate when translated or performed in another way, etc.

lose it INFORMAL

1. ) to start laughing or crying and be unable to stop

2. ) to suddenly become unable to behave or think in a sensible way

3. ) to suddenly become very angry

lose your life

to die as a result of something such as an accident, war, or illness:

He lost his life in a sailing accident.

lose your marbles INFORMAL

to become crazy

lose your rag BRITISH INFORMAL

to get very angry

lose sight of

1. ) to forget an important fact or forget what your main aim is, because you are thinking too much about other things:

I think he has lost sight of the origins of the company.

2. ) to be unable to see someone or something anymore:

Danny lost sight of the muggers when they ran into a mall.

lose your touch

to not be as successful at doing something as you were before

lose touch (with something)

to not know the most recent information about something, so you no longer understand it completely:

I've lived in the U.S. 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

lose track (of)

to not know anymore where someone or something is or what is happening:

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

lose your way

1. ) to no longer know what your aim or purpose is or what to do next:

The company has lost its way in recent years.

2. ) to not know where you are or how to get to where you want to go

lose yourself in something

to be so interested in something that you do not notice what is happening around you

not lose sleep over

to not let something worry or upset you:

It was just a mistake. Don't lose any sleep over it.

,lose `out phrasal verb intransitive

to not get a benefit that someone else is getting:

The proposal is likely to be opposed by the four countries which could lose out.

lose out to someone: If we don't act quickly, we'll lose out to another company.