lose
English
Etymology 1
From Middle English losen, from Old English losian, from Proto-Germanic *lusōną, *luzōną, from Proto-Germanic *lusą.
Pronunciation
- enPR: lo͞oz, IPA(key): /luːz/
Audio (UK) (file) Audio (US) (file) - Homophone: loos
- Rhymes: -uːz
Verb
lose (third-person singular simple present loses, present participle losing, simple past and past participle lost)
- (transitive) To cause (something) to cease to be in one's possession or capability due to unfortunate or unknown circumstances, events or reasons.
- 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 19, in The China Governess:
- Meanwhile Nanny Broome was recovering from her initial panic and seemed anxious to make up for any kudos she might have lost, by exerting her personality to the utmost. She took the policeman's helmet and placed it on a chair, and unfolded his tunic to shake it and fold it up again for him.
- 2008 November 21, Graham Linehan, The IT Crowd, Season 3, Episode 1:
- Douglas: I took some of the pension money out of the bank and I lost it on a horse.
Nolan: Gambling with our employees' pensions?
Douglas: Gambling? No. I was riding the horse. It fell out of my pocket.
- Douglas: I took some of the pension money out of the bank and I lost it on a horse.
- 2011 April 15, Saj Chowdhury, “Norwich 2-1 Nott'm Forest”, in BBC Sport:
- Forest, who lost striker Kris Boyd to injury seconds before half-time, produced little after the break, with a Tyson sliced shot from 12 yards their only opportunity of note.
- If you lose that ten-pound note, you'll be sorry.
- He lost his hearing in the explosion.
- She lost her position when the company was taken over.
- (transitive) To have (an organ) removed from one's body, especially by accident.
- Johnny lost a tooth, but kept it for the tooth fairy.
- He lost his spleen in a car wreck.
- (transitive) To shed (weight).
- I’ve lost five pounds this week.
- (transitive) To experience the death of (someone to whom one has an attachment, such as a relative or friend).
- She lost all her sons in the war.
- (transitive) To give or owe (money) after losing a bet.
- To be deprived of access to something.
- Users who engage in disruptive behavior may lose their accounts.
-
- To wander from; to miss, so as not to be able to find; to go astray from.
- I lost my way in the forest.
- 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act I, scene ii]:
- He hath lost his fellows.
- (transitive) To fail to win (a game, competition, trial, etc).
- We lost the football match.
- You just lost The Game.
- 1692, John Dryden, Cleomenes, the Spartan Hero, a Tragedy
- I fought the battle bravely which I lost, / And lost it but to Macedonians.
- 2022 September 7, Trump Tried to Pay Lawyer with a Horse, Also Stole Material on Foreign Nation's Nuclear Capabilities (Comedy), The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, archived from the original on 08 September 2022, spoken by Jimmy Fallon, 5:25 from the start:
- Well, some news from overseas: according to a new report, Russia is now buying military supplies from North Korea. Yep, Russia's asking North Korea for help. Uh, tell us you're losing the war without telling us you're losing the war.
- (transitive) To be unable to follow or trace (somebody or something) any longer.
- The policeman lost the robber he was chasing.
- Mission control lost the satellite as its signal died down.
- (transitive) To cause (somebody) to be unable to follow or trace one any longer.
- We managed to lose our pursuers in the forest.
- (transitive) To cease exhibiting; to overcome (a behavior or emotion).
- 2007, Ron Liebman, Death by Rodrigo, New York: Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, page 134:
- I can see Mickie getting hot, I'm about to grab his arm, hold him back, say, Whoa, whoa, Mick, not here, it ain't worth it what happened inside just now. But I don't need to because Mickie loses his anger, starts smiling at ponytail, then melodramatically starts looking around at the men and women on the street going in and out of the courthouse.
- 2012, Tracy Brooks, Dancing in the Rain, →ISBN, page 349:
- Her attitude was so bad my mother wound up telling her, “You know we really don't have to be standing here talking to you, so you can lose the attitude or you can leave.
-
- (transitive, informal) To shed, remove, discard, or eliminate.
- When we get into the building, please lose the hat.
- 1976, Martine, Sexual Astrology:
- You can bet that the next woman who "loses" the top half of her bikini at the beach was born under the sign of Libra.
-
- Of a clock, to run slower than expected.
- My watch loses five minutes a week.
- It's already 5:30? My watch must have lost a few minutes.
- (ditransitive) To cause (someone) the loss of something; to deprive of.
- 1650, Richard Baxter, The Saints' Everlasting Rest
- O false heart! thou hadst almost betrayed me to eternal flames, and lost me this glory.
- a. 1699, Sir William Temple, 1st Baronet, On the Excesses of Grief
- How should you go about to lose him a wife he loves with so much passion?
- 2002, Colin Jones, The Great Nation, Penguin 2003, page 556:
- This lost Catholicism […] any semblance of a claim to special status, and also highlighted the gains which other religious formations had derived from the Revolution.
- 1650, Richard Baxter, The Saints' Everlasting Rest
- To fail to catch with the mind or senses; to miss.
- I lost a part of what he said.
Usage notes
- Not to be confused with loose.
Conjugation
infinitive | (to) lose | ||
---|---|---|---|
present tense | past tense | ||
1st-person singular | lose | lost | |
2nd-person singular | lose, losest† | lost, lostest† | |
3rd-person singular | loses, loseth† | lost | |
plural | lose | ||
subjunctive | lose | lost | |
imperative | lose | — | |
participles | losing | lost |
†Archaic or obsolete.
Synonyms
- (cause to cease to be in one's possession): leave behind, mislay
- (fail to win (something): forfeit
- (shed (weight): drop, shed
- (have (somebody of one's kin) die):
- (be unable to follow or trace (somebody or something) any longer):
- (shed, remove, discard, eliminate): ditch, drop, dump, get rid of, jettison
Antonyms
- (cause to cease to be in one's possession): come across, discover, find, gain, acquire, procure, get, pick up, snag
- (fail to win (something): win
- (shed (weight): gain, put on
- (have (somebody of one's kin) die):
- (be unable to follow or trace (somebody or something) any longer): find
- (shed, remove, discard, eliminate): pick up
- (fail to be the winner): come first, win
Derived terms
- lose heart
- lose it
- lose no time
- lose one's cool
- lose oneself
- lose one's head
- lose one's life
- lose one's lunch
- lose one's marbles
- lose one's mind
- lose one's patience
- lose one's rag
- lose one's temper
- lose one's way
- lose out
- lose patience
- lose the dressing room
- lose the plot
- lose the run of oneself
- lose time
- no love lost
Related terms
- losel
- loser
- loss
Descendants
- Chinese Pidgin English: loosee
Translations
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
|
Etymology 2
From Old French los, loos, from Latin laudēs, plural of laus (“praise”).
Noun
lose
- (obsolete) Fame, renown; praise.
- 1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book VI, Canto XII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, OCLC 960102938:
- That much he feared least reprochfull blame / With foule dishonour him mote blot therefore; / Besides the losse of so much loos and fame […].
-
Anagrams
- EOLs, ESOL, Elos, LEOs, Leos, OELs, Sole, elos, leos, selo, sloe, sole
Alemannic German
Etymology
From Middle High German losen, from Old High German hlosēn, from Proto-Germanic *hlusēną. Cognate with English listen; see there for more.
Pronunciation
- (Zurich) IPA(key): /ˈlozə/, /ˈlɔzə/
Verb
lose (third-person singular simple present loset, past participle gloset, auxiliary haa)
- to hear, listen
- 1903, Robert Walser, Der Teich:
- I ha allwäg nüt anders z'mache, als nume uf dini Chlage z’lose.
- I never have to do anything but listen to your complaints.
- 1903, Robert Walser, Der Teich:
Czech
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ˈlosɛ]
- Rhymes: -osɛ
- Hyphenation: lo‧se
Noun
lose
- vocative singular of los
- 1874, “Písně běloruské”, in František Vymazal, editor, Slovanská poezije, Brno: Matice moravská, page 236:
- „A což ty, lose, což ty nebohý,
Tak k dědině přivykáš?
A což ty, lose, což ty nebohý,
Zimičku lichou předvídáš?“- (please add an English translation of this quote)
-
Anagrams
- Elso
- osel
- osle
- selo
German
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈloːzə/
Etymology 1
Old High German lōs. Cognate with English loose.
Alternative forms
- los (also a distinct word, but not separable in many contexts)
Adjective
lose (strong nominative masculine singular loser, comparative loser, superlative am losesten)
- loose, slack
Declension
number & gender | singular | plural | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
masculine | feminine | neuter | all genders | ||
predicative | er ist lose | sie ist lose | es ist lose | sie sind lose | |
strong declension (without article) | nominative | loser | lose | loses | lose |
genitive | losen | loser | losen | loser | |
dative | losem | loser | losem | losen | |
accusative | losen | lose | loses | lose | |
weak declension (with definite article) | nominative | der lose | die lose | das lose | die losen |
genitive | des losen | der losen | des losen | der losen | |
dative | dem losen | der losen | dem losen | den losen | |
accusative | den losen | die lose | das lose | die losen | |
mixed declension (with indefinite article) | nominative | ein loser | eine lose | ein loses | (keine) losen |
genitive | eines losen | einer losen | eines losen | (keiner) losen | |
dative | einem losen | einer losen | einem losen | (keinen) losen | |
accusative | einen losen | eine lose | ein loses | (keine) losen |
number & gender | singular | plural | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
masculine | feminine | neuter | all genders | ||
predicative | er ist loser | sie ist loser | es ist loser | sie sind loser | |
strong declension (without article) | nominative | loserer | losere | loseres | losere |
genitive | loseren | loserer | loseren | loserer | |
dative | loserem | loserer | loserem | loseren | |
accusative | loseren | losere | loseres | losere | |
weak declension (with definite article) | nominative | der losere | die losere | das losere | die loseren |
genitive | des loseren | der loseren | des loseren | der loseren | |
dative | dem loseren | der loseren | dem loseren | den loseren | |
accusative | den loseren | die losere | das losere | die loseren | |
mixed declension (with indefinite article) | nominative | ein loserer | eine losere | ein loseres | (keine) loseren |
genitive | eines loseren | einer loseren | eines loseren | (keiner) loseren | |
dative | einem loseren | einer loseren | einem loseren | (keinen) loseren | |
accusative | einen loseren | eine losere | ein loseres | (keine) loseren |
number & gender | singular | plural | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
masculine | feminine | neuter | all genders | ||
predicative | er ist am losesten | sie ist am losesten | es ist am losesten | sie sind am losesten | |
strong declension (without article) | nominative | losester | loseste | losestes | loseste |
genitive | losesten | losester | losesten | losester | |
dative | losestem | losester | losestem | losesten | |
accusative | losesten | loseste | losestes | loseste | |
weak declension (with definite article) | nominative | der loseste | die loseste | das loseste | die losesten |
genitive | des losesten | der losesten | des losesten | der losesten | |
dative | dem losesten | der losesten | dem losesten | den losesten | |
accusative | den losesten | die loseste | das loseste | die losesten | |
mixed declension (with indefinite article) | nominative | ein losester | eine loseste | ein losestes | (keine) losesten |
genitive | eines losesten | einer losesten | eines losesten | (keiner) losesten | |
dative | einem losesten | einer losesten | einem losesten | (keinen) losesten | |
accusative | einen losesten | eine loseste | ein losestes | (keine) losesten |
Verb
lose
- inflection of losen:
- first-person singular present
- first/third-person singular subjunctive I
- singular imperative
Further reading
- “lose” in Duden online
- “lose” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
Norwegian Nynorsk
Verb
lose (present tense losar/loser, past tense losa/loste, past participle losa/lost, passive infinitive losast, present participle losande, imperative lose/los)
- Alternative spelling of lóse
- Alternative spelling of lòse
Serbo-Croatian
Noun
lose (Cyrillic spelling лосе)
- vocative singular of los
Slovene
Noun
lose
- accusative plural of los