- lose
- loseW1S1 [lu:z] v past tense and past participle lost [lɔst US lo:st]▬▬▬▬▬▬▬1¦(stop having attitude/quality etc)¦2¦(not win)¦3¦(cannot find something)¦4¦(stop having something)¦5¦(death)¦6¦(money)¦7 have nothing to lose8¦(time)¦9 lose your way/bearings10 lose touch (with somebody/something)11 lose your temper/cool/rag12 lose your head13 lose your mind14 lose it15 lose yourself in something16¦(escape)¦17¦(confuse somebody)¦18¦(remove something)¦19 lose something in the translation/tellingPhrasal verbslose out▬▬▬▬▬▬▬[: Old English; Origin: losian 'to destroy or be destroyed, to lose']1.) ¦(STOP HAVING ATTITUDE/QUALITY ETC)¦ [T]to stop having a particular attitude, quality, ability etc, or to gradually have less of it→↑loss▪ I've lost my appetite.lose confidence/interest/hope etc▪ The business community has lost confidence in the government.▪ Carol lost interest in ballet in her teens.▪ Try not to lose heart (=become sad and hopeless) - there are plenty of other jobs.lose face(=stop having as much respect from other people)▪ A settlement was reached in which neither side lost face.lose weight/height/speed etc▪ You're looking slim. Have you lost weight?▪ The plane emptied its fuel tanks as it started losing altitude.lose your sight/hearing/voice/balance etc▪ Mr Eyer may lose the sight in one eye.▪ The tour was postponed when the lead singer lost his voice.▪ Julian lost his balance and fell.lose your touch(=become less skilled at doing something you used to do well)▪ This latest movie proves Altman is by no means losing his touch.▪ By the time the ambulance arrived, Douglas had lost consciousness .lose all sense of time/direction/proportion etc▪ When he was writing, he lost all sense of time.lose sight of sth(=forget an important fact about a situation)▪ We must never lose sight of the fact that man must work in harmony with nature.2.) ¦(NOT WIN)¦ [I and T]to not win a game, argument, election, war etc≠ ↑win→↑defeat▪ They played so badly they deserved to lose.▪ Klinger lost his seat in the election.▪ Arkansas just lost three games in a row.▪ He just can't bear to lose an argument.lose to▪ The Beavers have dropped only one game since losing to Oregon in January.lose (sth) by 1 goal/10 votes/20 points etc▪ The government lost by one vote.▪ The Communist candidate lost by a whisker (=a very small amount) .▪ Freddie died in 1982 after losing his battle against AIDS.lose sb sth▪ It was a rash decision, and it lost him the race (=caused him to lose the race) .3.) ¦(CANNOT FIND SOMETHING)¦ [T]to become unable to find someone or something▪ I've lost the tickets for tonight's show.▪ I followed her on foot, but lost her in the crowd.▪ It was thought the manuscript had been lost forever .be/get lost in the postBrE be/get lost in the mail AmE▪ The parcel must have got lost in the post .lose track of sth/sb(=stop knowing where someone or something is)▪ He lost track of her after her family moved away.lose sight of sth/sb(=stop being able to see someone or something)▪ Don't try to walk in a heavy snowstorm as you may lose sight of your vehicle.4.) ¦(STOP HAVING SOMETHING)¦ [T]if you lose something that is important or necessary, you then no longer have it, especially because it has been taken from you or destroyed→↑loss▪ David's very upset about losing his job .▪ Hundreds of people lost their homes in the floods.▪ My family lost everything in the war.▪ He was over the limit and will lose his licence .▪ 90 naval aircraft were lost and 31 damaged.lose a chance/opportunity▪ If you hesitate, you may lose the opportunity to compete altogether.lose sth to sb/sth▪ We were losing customers to cheaper rivals.▪ She was about to lose her husband to a younger woman.▪ California has lost 90% of its wetlands to development.lose an arm/leg/eye etc▪ He lost his leg in a motorcycle accident.▪ He's lost a lot of blood but his life is not in danger.lose sb sth▪ the mistakes which lost him his kingdom (=caused him to lose his kingdom)5.) ¦(DEATH)¦ [T]a) lose your lifeto die▪ a memorial to honor those who lost their lives in the warb) if you lose a relative or friend, they die - use this when you want to avoid saying the word 'die'→↑loss▪ One woman in Brooklyn lost a husband and two sons in the gang wars.▪ Sadly, Anna lost the baby (=her baby died before it was born) .lose sb to cancer/AIDS etc▪ He lost his father to cancer (=his father died of cancer) last year.▪ Peter was lost at sea when his ship sank.6.) ¦(MONEY)¦ [I and T]if you lose money, you then have less money than you had before→↑loss lose on▪ The company is in debt after losing an estimated $30 million on its dotcom enterprise.▪ Creditors and investors stand to lose (=risk losing) vast sums after the company's collapse.▪ A lot of people lost their shirts (=lost a lot of money) on Ferraris in the Eighties.▪ It's a great deal - we can't lose!lose sb sth▪ The stock market crash lost the banks £70 million (=caused them to lose £70 million) .7.) have nothing to losespoken if you have nothing to lose, it is worth taking a risk because you cannot make your situation any worse▪ You might as well apply for the job - you've got nothing to lose.have nothing to lose but your pride/reputation etc▪ The working class has nothing to lose but its chains. (=disadvantages, restrictions etc) .have a lot/too much to lose(=used to say that you could make your situation much worse)▪ These youngsters know they have too much to lose by protesting against the system.8.) ¦(TIME)¦ [T]a) if you lose time, you do not make progress as quickly as you want to or shouldlose time/2 days/3 hours etc▪ Vital minutes were lost because the ambulance took half an hour to arrive.▪ In 1978, 29 million days were lost in industrial action.▪ Come on, there's no time to lose (=do not waste time) .lose no time in doing sth(=do something immediately)▪ Murdock lost no time in taking out a patent for his invention.b) if a watch, clock etc loses time, it runs too slowly and shows an earlier time than it should≠ ↑gain9.) lose your way/bearingsa) to stop knowing where you are or which direction you should go in▪ I lost my way in the network of tiny alleys.b) to become uncertain about your beliefs or what you should do▪ The company seems to have lost its way of late.10.) lose touch (with sb/sth)a) if two people lose touch, they gradually stop communicating, for example by no longer phoning or writing to each other▪ I've lost touch with all my old school friends.▪ They lost touch when Di got married and moved away.b) if you lose touch with a situation or group, you are then no longer involved in it and so do not know about it or understand it▪ They claim the prime minister has lost touch with the party.▪ It sometimes appears that the planners have lost touch with reality.11.) lose your temper/cool/ragto become angrylose your temper/cool/rag with▪ Diana was determined not to lose her temper with him.12.) lose your headto become unable to behave calmly or sensibly▪ You've all heard that Nadal lost his head over a girl?13.) lose your mindto become crazy= ↑go crazy, go mad ↑go mad▪ Nicholas looked at her as if she'd lost her mind.14.) lose itspoken informala) to become very angry and upset▪ She completely lost it with one of the kids in class.b) also lose the plotto become crazy or confused▪ I could see people thinking I'd totally lost the plot.15.) lose yourself in sthto be paying so much attention to something that you do not notice anything else▪ She listened intently to the music, losing herself in its beauty.16.) ¦(ESCAPE)¦ [T]if you lose someone who is chasing you, you manage to escape from them▪ There's a better chance of losing him if we take the back route.17.) ¦(CONFUSE SOMEBODY)¦ [T]spoken informal to confuse someone when you are trying to explain something to them▪ Explain it again - you've lost me already.18.) ¦(REMOVE SOMETHING)¦ [T]to remove a part or feature of something that is not necessary or wanted▪ You could lose the last paragraph to make it fit on one page.19.) lose sth in the translation/tellingto be less good than the original form▪ The joke loses something in the translation.→↑lost2lose out phr vto not get something good, valuable etc because someone else gets it instead▪ The deal will ensure that shareholders do not lose out financially.lose out to▪ He lost out to Roy Scheider for the lead role.lose out on▪ Workers who don't take up training may lose out on promotion.
Dictionary of contemporary English. 2013.