lose

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See also: Lose, lóse, lòse, löse, loše, and løse

English

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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From Middle English losen, from Old English losian, from Proto-West Germanic *losōn, from Proto-Germanic *lusōną, *luzōną, from Proto-Germanic *lusą. The modern pronunciation with /uː/ is due to conflation with loose.

Verb

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lose (third-person singular simple present loses, present participle losing, simple past and past participle lost)

  1. (transitive) To cause (something) to cease to be in one's possession or capability.
    • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 19, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
      Meanwhile Nanny Broome was recovering from her initial panic and seemed anxious to make up for any kudos she might have lost, by exerting her personality to the utmost. She took the policeman's helmet and placed it on a chair, and unfolded his tunic to shake it and fold it up again for him.
    • 2008 November 21, Graham Linehan, The IT Crowd, Season 3, Episode 1:
      Douglas: I took some of the pension money out of the bank and I lost it on a horse.
      Nolan: Gambling with our employees' pensions?
      Douglas: Gambling? No. I was riding the horse. It fell out of my pocket.
    • 2011 April 15, Saj Chowdhury, “Norwich 2-1 Nott'm Forest”, in BBC Sport:
      Forest, who lost striker Kris Boyd to injury seconds before half-time, produced little after the break, with a Tyson sliced shot from 12 yards their only opportunity of note.
    If you lose that ten-pound note, you'll be sorry.
    He lost his hearing in the explosion.
    She lost her position when the company was taken over.
    1. (transitive) To have (an organ) removed from one's body, especially by accident.
      Johnny lost a tooth, but kept it for the tooth fairy.
      He lost his spleen in a car wreck.
    2. (transitive) To shed (weight).
      I’ve lost five pounds this week.
    3. (transitive) To experience the death of (someone to whom one has an attachment, such as a relative or friend).
      She lost all her sons in the war.
    4. (transitive) To pay or owe (some wager) due from an unsuccessful bet or gamble.
      Frank had lost $500 staying in Vegas.
    5. (transitive) To be deprived of (some right or privileged access to something).
      Users who engage in disruptive behavior may lose their accounts.
  2. To wander from; to miss, so as not to be able to find; to go astray from.
    I lost my way in the forest.
  3. (transitive) To fail to win (a game, competition, trial, etc).
    We lost the football match.
    You just lost The Game.
    • 1692, John Dryden, Cleomenes, the Spartan Hero, a Tragedy:
      I fought the battle bravely which I lost, / And lost it but to Macedonians.
    • 2022 September 7, 5:25 from the start, in Trump Tried to Pay Lawyer with a Horse, Also Stole Material on Foreign Nation's Nuclear Capabilities‎[1] (Comedy), spoken by Jimmy Fallon, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, archived from the original on 08 September 2022:
      Well, some news from overseas: according to a new report, Russia is now buying military supplies from North Korea. Yep, Russia's asking North Korea for help. Uh, tell us you're losing the war without telling us you're losing the war.
  4. (transitive) To be unable to follow or trace (somebody or something) any longer.
    The policeman lost the robber he was chasing.
    Mission control lost the satellite as its signal died down.
  5. (transitive) To cause (somebody) to be unable to follow or trace one any longer.
    We managed to lose our pursuers in the forest.
  6. (transitive) To cease exhibiting; to overcome (a behavior or emotion).
    • 2007, Ron Liebman, Death by Rodrigo, New York: Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, page 134:
      I can see Mickie getting hot, I'm about to grab his arm, hold him back, say, Whoa, whoa, Mick, not here, it ain't worth it what happened inside just now. But I don't need to because Mickie loses his anger, starts smiling at ponytail, then melodramatically starts looking around at the men and women on the street going in and out of the courthouse.
    • 2012, Tracy Brooks, Dancing in the Rain, →ISBN, page 349:
      Her attitude was so bad my mother wound up telling her, “You know we really don't have to be standing here talking to you, so you can lose the attitude or you can leave.
  7. (transitive, informal) To shed, remove, discard, or eliminate.
    When we get into the building, please lose the hat.
    • 1976, Martine, Sexual Astrology:
      You can bet that the next woman who "loses" the top half of her bikini at the beach was born under the sign of Libra.
  8. Of a clock, to run slower than expected.
    My watch loses five minutes a week.
    It's already 5:30? My watch must have lost a few minutes.
  9. (ditransitive) To cause (someone) the loss of something; to deprive of.
    • 1650, Richard Baxter, The Saints' Everlasting Rest:
      O false heart! thou hadst almost betrayed me to eternal flames, and lost me this glory.
    • a. 1699, Sir William Temple, 1st Baronet, On the Excesses of Grief
      How should you go about to lose him a wife he loves with so much passion?
    • 2002, Colin Jones, The Great Nation, Penguin, published 2003, page 556:
      This lost Catholicism […] any semblance of a claim to special status, and also highlighted the gains which other religious formations had derived from the Revolution.
  10. To fail to catch with the mind or senses; to miss.
    I lost a part of what he said.
Usage notes
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  • Not to be confused with loose.
Conjugation
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Conjugation of lose
infinitive (to) lose
present tense past tense
1st-person singular lose lost
2nd-person singular lose, losest† lost, lostest†
3rd-person singular loses, loseth† lost
plural lose
subjunctive lose lost
imperative lose —
participles losing lost

†Archaic or obsolete.

Synonyms
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Antonyms
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  • (antonym(s) of “cause to cease to be in one's possession”): come across, discover, find, gain, acquire, procure, get, pick up, snag
  • (antonym(s) of “fail to win (something”): win
  • (antonym(s) of “shed (weight”): gain, put on
  • (antonym(s) of “have (somebody of one's kin) die”):
  • (antonym(s) of “be unable to follow or trace (somebody or something) any longer”): find
  • (antonym(s) of “shed, remove, discard, eliminate”): pick up
  • (antonym(s) of “fail to be the winner”): come first, win
Derived terms
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Descendants
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  • Chinese Pidgin English: loosee
Translations
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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

Etymology 2

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Noun

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lose (uncountable)

  1. Alternative form of loos (“praise; fame; reputation”).

Anagrams

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Alemannic German

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Etymology

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From Middle High German losen, from Old High German hlosēn, from Proto-Germanic *hlusēną. Cognate with English listen; see there for more.

Pronunciation

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Verb

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lose (third-person singular simple present loset, past participle gloset, auxiliary haa)

  1. to hear, listen
    • 1903, Robert Walser, Der Teich:
      I ha allwäg nüt anders z'mache, als nume uf dini Chlage z’lose.
      I never have to do anything but listen to your complaints.

Czech

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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lose

  1. vocative singular of los
    • 1874, “Písně běloruské”, in František Vymazal, editor, Slovanská poezije‎[2], Brno: Matice moravská, page 236:
      „A což ty, lose, což ty nebohý,
      Tak k dědině přivykáš?
      A což ty, lose, což ty nebohý,
      Zimičku lichou předvídáš?“
      (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Anagrams

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German

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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From Old High German lōs. Cognate with English loose.

Alternative forms

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  • los (also a distinct word, but not separable in many contexts)

Adjective

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lose (strong nominative masculine singular loser, comparative loser, superlative am losesten)

  1. loose, slack
    Die Schraube muss nachgezogen werden; sie ist etwas lose. ― The screw needs to be tightened; it is a bit loose.
Declension
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Positive forms of lose
number & gender singular plural
masculine feminine neuter
predicative er ist lose sie ist lose es ist lose sie sind lose
strong declension
(without article) 		nominative loser lose loses lose
genitive losen loser losen loser
dative losem loser losem losen
accusative losen lose loses lose
weak declension
(with definite article) 		nominative der lose die lose das lose die losen
genitive des losen der losen des losen der losen
dative dem losen der losen dem losen den losen
accusative den losen die lose das lose die losen
mixed declension
(with indefinite article) 		nominative ein loser eine lose ein loses (keine) losen
genitive eines losen einer losen eines losen (keiner) losen
dative einem losen einer losen einem losen (keinen) losen
accusative einen losen eine lose ein loses (keine) losen
Comparative forms of lose
number & gender singular plural
masculine feminine neuter
predicative er ist loser sie ist loser es ist loser sie sind loser
strong declension
(without article) 		nominative loserer losere loseres losere
genitive loseren loserer loseren loserer
dative loserem loserer loserem loseren
accusative loseren losere loseres losere
weak declension
(with definite article) 		nominative der losere die losere das losere die loseren
genitive des loseren der loseren des loseren der loseren
dative dem loseren der loseren dem loseren den loseren
accusative den loseren die losere das losere die loseren
mixed declension
(with indefinite article) 		nominative ein loserer eine losere ein loseres (keine) loseren
genitive eines loseren einer loseren eines loseren (keiner) loseren
dative einem loseren einer loseren einem loseren (keinen) loseren
accusative einen loseren eine losere ein loseres (keine) loseren
Superlative forms of lose
number & gender singular plural
masculine feminine neuter
predicative er ist am losesten sie ist am losesten es ist am losesten sie sind am losesten
strong declension
(without article) 		nominative losester loseste losestes loseste
genitive losesten losester losesten losester
dative losestem losester losestem losesten
accusative losesten loseste losestes loseste
weak declension
(with definite article) 		nominative der loseste die loseste das loseste die losesten
genitive des losesten der losesten des losesten der losesten
dative dem losesten der losesten dem losesten den losesten
accusative den losesten die loseste das loseste die losesten
mixed declension
(with indefinite article) 		nominative ein losester eine loseste ein losestes (keine) losesten
genitive eines losesten einer losesten eines losesten (keiner) losesten
dative einem losesten einer losesten einem losesten (keinen) losesten
accusative einen losesten eine loseste ein losestes (keine) losesten

Etymology 2

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Verb

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lose

  1. inflection of losen:
    1. first-person singular present
    2. first/third-person singular subjunctive I
    3. singular imperative

Further reading

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  • “lose” in Duden online
  • “lose” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

Norwegian Nynorsk

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Verb

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lose (present tense losar/loser, past tense losa/loste, past participle losa/lost, passive infinitive losast, present participle losande, imperative lose/los)

  1. Alternative spelling of lóse
  2. Alternative spelling of lòse

Serbo-Croatian

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Noun

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lose (Cyrillic spelling лосе)

  1. vocative singular of los

Slovene

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Noun

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lose

  1. accusative plural of los
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