- to come to be without (something in one's possession or care), through accident, theft, etc., so that there is little or no prospect of recovery: I'm sure I've merely misplaced my hat, not lost it.
- to fail inadvertently to retain (something) in such a way that it cannot be immediately recovered: I just lost a dime under this sofa.
- to suffer the deprivation of: to lose one's job; to lose one's life.
- to be bereaved of by death: to lose a sister.
- to fail to keep, preserve, or maintain: to lose one's balance; to lose one's figure.
- (of a clock or watch) to run slower by: The watch loses three minutes a day.
- to give up; forfeit the possession of: to lose a fortune at the gaming table.
- to get rid of: to lose one's fear of the dark; to lose weight; She needs to lose those bangs!
- to bring to destruction or ruin (usually used passively): Ship and crew were lost.
- to condemn to hell; damn.
- to have slip from sight, hearing, attention, etc.: to lose him in the crowd.
- to stray from or become ignorant of (one's way, directions, etc.): to lose one's bearings.
- to leave far behind in a pursuit, race, etc.; outstrip: She managed to lose the other runners on the final lap of the race.
- to use to no purpose; waste: to lose time in waiting.
- to fail to get or take advantage of; miss: to lose an opportunity.
- to fail to win (a prize, stake, etc.): to lose a bet.
- to be defeated in (a game, lawsuit, battle, etc.): He has lost very few cases in his career as a lawyer.
- to cause the loss of: The delay lost the battle for them.
- to let (oneself) go astray, miss the way, etc.: We lost ourselves in the woods.
- to allow (oneself) to become absorbed or engrossed in something and oblivious to all else: I had lost myself in thought.
- (of a physician or other medical personnel) to fail to preserve the life of (a patient): The doctor came out of the operating room and sadly said, “So sorry. We lost him.”
- (of a woman) to fail to be delivered of (a live baby) because of miscarriage, complications in childbirth, etc.
- to suffer loss: to lose on a contract.
- to suffer defeat or fail to win, as in a contest, race, or game: We played well, but we lost.
- to depreciate in effectiveness or in some other essential quality: a classic that loses in translation.
- (of a clock, watch, etc.) to run slow.
- to suffer defeat or loss; fail to obtain something desired: He got through the preliminaries, but lost out in the finals.
- face (def. 53).
- See entry at lose in translation.
- to suddenly lose control of one's emotions: When he said he loved me, I nearly lost it.
- to part with or come to be without, as through theft, accident, negligence, etc
- to fail to keep or maintain
- to suffer the loss or deprivation of
- to cease to have or possess
- to fail to get or make use of
- to fail to gain or win (a contest, game, etc)
- to fail to see, hear, perceive, or understand
- to waste
- to wander from so as to be unable to find
- to cause the loss of
- to allow to go astray or out of sight
- to absorb or engross
- to cause the death or destruction of
- to outdistance or elude
- to decrease or depreciate in value or effectiveness
- (of a timepiece) to run slow (by a specified amount)
- (of a physician) to fail to sustain the life of (a patient)
- (of a woman) to fail to give birth to (a viable baby), esp as the result of a miscarriage
- to lose control of (the car), as on a bend
- to lose control of oneself or one's temper