v. (past and past part. lost)
1. tr. be deprived of or cease to have, esp. by negligence or misadventure.
2 tr. a be deprived of (a person, esp. a close relative) by death. b suffer the loss of (a baby) in childbirth.
3 tr. become unable to find; fail to keep in sight or follow or mentally grasp (lose one's way).
4 tr. let or have pass from one's control or reach (lose one's chance; lose one's bearings).
5 tr. be defeated in (a game, race, lawsuit, battle, etc.).
6 tr. evade; get rid of (lost our pursuers).
7 tr. fail to obtain, catch, or perceive (lose a train; lose a word).
8 tr. forfeit (a stake, deposit, right to a thing, etc.).
9 tr. spend (time, efforts, etc.) to no purpose (lost no time in raising the alarm).
10 intr. a suffer loss or detriment; incur a disadvantage. b be worse off, esp. financially.
11 tr. cause (a person) the loss of (will lose you your job).
12 intr. & tr. (of a timepiece) become slow; become slow by (a specified amount of time).
13 tr. (in passive) disappear, perish; be dead (was lost in the war; is a lost art).
Phrases and idioms:
be lost (or lose oneself) in be engrossed in. be lost on be wasted on, or not noticed or appreciated by. be lost to be no longer affected by or accessible to (is lost to pity; is lost to the world). be lost without have great difficulty if deprived of (am lost without my diary). get lost sl. (usu. in imper.) go away. lose one's balance
1. fail to remain stable; fall.
2 fail to retain one's composure. lose one's cool colloq. lose one's composure. lose face be humiliated; lose one's credibility. lose ground see GROUND(1). lose one's head see HEAD. lose heart be discouraged. lose one's heart see HEART. lose one's nerve become timid or irresolute. lose out (often foll. by on) colloq. be unsuccessful; not get a fair chance or advantage (in). lose one's temper become angry. lose time allow time to pass with something unachieved etc. lose touch see TOUCH. lose track of see TRACK(1). lose the (or one's) way become lost; fail to reach one's destination. losing battle a contest or effort in which failure seems certain.
lost cause
1. an enterprise etc. with no chance of success.
2 a person one can no longer hope to influence.
lost generation
1. a generation with many of its men killed in war, esp. that of 1914-18.
2 an emotionally and culturally unstable generation coming to maturity, esp. in 1915-25.
Derivatives:
losable adj.
Etymology: OE losian perish, destroy f. los loss