[loss] n [ME los, prob. back-formation fr. lost, pp. of losen to lose] (13c) 1: destruction, ruin
2. a: the act of losing possession b: the harm or privation resulting from loss or separation c: an instance of losing
3: a person or thing or an amount that is lost: as a pl: killed, wounded, or captured soldiers b: the power diminution of a circuit or circuit element corresponding to conversion of electrical energy into heat by resistance
4. a: failure to gain, win, obtain, or utilize b: an amount by which the cost of an article or service exceeds the selling price
5: decrease in amount, magnitude, or degree
6: the amount of an insured's financial detriment by death or damage that the insurer becomes liable for -- at a loss : uncertain, puzzled -- for a loss : into a state of distress