loss
See also: los, löss, løss, and lóss
English
Etymology 1
From Middle English los, from Old English los (“damage, destruction, loss”), from Proto-Germanic *lusą (“dissolution, break-up, loss”), from Proto-Indo-European *lews- (“to cut, sunder, separate, loose, lose”). Cognate with Icelandic los (“dissolution, looseness, break-up”), Old English lor, forlor (“loss, ruin”), Middle High German verlor (“loss, ruin”). More at lose.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /lɒs/
- (General American) IPA(key): /lɔs/
- (cot–caught merger, Canada) IPA(key): /lɑs/
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -ɒs, -ɔːs
Noun
loss (countable and uncountable, plural losses)
- (countable) The result of no longer possessing an object, a function, or a characteristic due to external causes or misplacement.
- Antonym: gain
- loss of limb; weight loss; loss of cognitive functions; loss of appetite.
- In other areas, glacier loss creates serious risk of a dry period across the Third Pole, Wang said.
- (uncountable) The destruction or ruin of an object.
- (countable) Something that has been destroyed or ruined.
- It was a terrible crash; both cars were total losses.
- (countable) Defeat; an instance of being defeated.
- Antonyms: win, victory
- The match ended in their first loss of the season.
- (countable) The death of a person or animal.
- We mourn his loss.
- The battle was won, but losses were great.
- (uncountable) The condition of grief caused by losing someone or something, especially someone who has died.
- Her daughter's sense of loss eventually led to depression.
- (financial, countable) The sum an entity loses on balance.
- Antonym: profit
- The sum of expenditures and taxes minus total income is a loss, when this difference is positive.
- (engineering) Electricity of kinetic power expended without doing useful work.
- The inefficiency of many old-fashioned power plants exceeds 60% loss before the subsequent losses during transport over the grid.
Usage notes
- The possessive of loss is often constructed as loss of rather than 's loss.
- loss is often the subject of the verbs make or take. See Appendix:Collocations of do, have, make, and take
Derived terms
- at a loss
- blood loss, bloodloss
- for a loss
- loss leader
- lossmaker, loss-maker
- loss ratio
- profit and loss
- total loss
Related terms
- lose
Translations
the result of no longer possessing something
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destruction or ruin of an object
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something destroyed
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defeat — See also translations at defeat
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the death of a person or animal
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grief caused by losing someone or something
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financial: the sum lost on balance
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engineering: power expended without doing useful work
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
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Etymology 2
Pronunciation spelling of lost, representing African-American Vernacular English.
Verb
loss
- (colloquial) Alternative spelling of lost
Anagrams
- SOLs, Sols, sols
Estonian
Etymology
Borrowed from German Schloss, from Middle High German slōz, from Old High German sloz.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈlosː/
- Hyphenation: loss
Noun
loss (genitive lossi, partitive lossi)
- château
- Synonym: palee
Declension
Declension of loss (type riik)
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | loss | lossid |
| genitive | lossi | losside |
| partitive | lossi | losse / lossisid |
| illative | lossi / lossisse | lossidesse / lossesse |
| inessive | lossis | lossides / losses |
| elative | lossist | lossidest / lossest |
| allative | lossile | lossidele / lossele |
| adessive | lossil | lossidel / lossel |
| ablative | lossilt | lossidelt / losselt |
| translative | lossiks | lossideks / losseks |
| terminative | lossini | lossideni |
| essive | lossina | lossidena |
| abessive | lossita | lossideta |
| comitative | lossiga | lossidega |
Further reading
- loss in Eesti keele põhisõnavara sõnastik
- loss in Eesti keele seletav sõnaraamat
- loss in Raadik, M., editor (2018), Eesti õigekeelsussõnaraamat ÕS 2018, Tallinn: Eesti Keele Sihtasutus, →ISBN
- loss in Sõnaveeb
Norwegian Bokmål
Verb
loss
- imperative of losse
Swedish
Etymology
Like Danish los and Norwegian loss, from Low German or Dutch los, from Middle Low German respectively Middle Dutch los, sidoform of Low German lōs respectively Dutch loos, cognate with Swedish lös.
Adverb
loss (not comparable)
- to a no longer attached or stuck state (no longer stuck to something, generally); loose, off, untied
- Han drog i den, och till slut kom den loss
- He pulled on it, and finally it came loose
- Han sparkade loss grenen
- He kicked the branch off
- Jag är fast i kvicksand och kommer inte loss
- I'm stuck in quicksand and can't get out (get unstuck)
- De knöt loss båten
- They untied the boat (from the pier)
Derived terms
- kasta loss
Anagrams
- sols
Yola
Noun
loss
- Alternative form of lass
- 1867, “CASTEALE CUDDE'S LAMENTATION”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY:
- FOR LOSS O' HIS CUCK AT WAS EE-TOOK BE A VOX.
- FOR LOSS OF HIS COCK THAT WAS TAKEN BY A FOX.
-
References
- Jacob Poole (1867), William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, page 102