Crossword Dictionary

What's The Definition Of Lose?

\Lose\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Losing}.] [OE. losien to loose, be lost, lose, AS. losian to become loose; akin to OE. leosen to lose, p. p. loren, lorn, AS. le['o]san, p. p. loren (in comp.), D. verliezen, G. verlieren, Dan. forlise, Sw. f["o]rlisa, f["o]rlora, Goth. fraliusan, also to E. loose, a & v., L. luere to loose, Gr. ?, Skr. l? to cut. [root]127. Cf. {Analysis}, {Palsy}, {Solve}, {Forlorn}, {Leasing}, {Loose}, {Loss}.] 1. To part with unintentionally or unwillingly, as by accident, misfortune, negligence, penalty, forfeit, etc.; to be deprived of; as, to lose money from one's purse or pocket, or in business or gaming; to lose an arm or a leg by amputation; to lose men in battle. Fair Venus wept the sad disaster Of having lost her favorite dove. --Prior. 2. To cease to have; to possess no longer; to suffer diminution of; as, to lose one's relish for anything; to lose one's health. If the salt hath lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted ? --Matt. v. 13. 3. Not to employ; to employ ineffectually; to throw away; to waste; to squander; as, to lose a day; to lose the benefits of instruction. The unhappy have but hours, and these they lose. --Dryden. 4. To wander from; to miss, so as not to be able to and; to go astray from; as, to lose one's way. He hath lost his fellows. --Shak 5. To ruin; to destroy; as destroy; as, the ship was lost on the ledge. The woman that deliberates is lost. --Addison. 6. To be deprived of the view of; to cease to see or know the whereabouts of; as, he lost his companion in the crowd. Like following life thro' creatures you dissect, You lose it in the moment you detect. --Pope. 7. To fail to obtain or enjoy; to fail to gain or win; hence, to fail to catch with the mind or senses; to miss; as, I lost a part of what he said. He shall in no wise lose his reward. --Matt. x. 42. I fought the battle bravely which I lost, And lost it but to Macedonians. --Dryden. 8. To cause to part with; to deprive of. [R.] How should you go about to lose him a wife he loves with so much passion ? --Sir W. Temple. 9. To prevent from gaining or obtaining. O false heart ! thou hadst almost betrayed me to eternal flames, and lost me this glory. --Baxter. {To lose ground}, to fall behind; to suffer gradual loss or disadvantage. {To lose heart}, to lose courage; to become timid. ``The mutineers lost heart.'' --Macaulay. {To lose one's head}, to be thrown off one's balance; to lose the use of one's good sense or judgment. In the excitement of such a discovery, many scholars lost their heads. --Whitney. {To lose one's self}. (a) To forget or mistake the bearing of surrounding objects; as, to lose one's self in a great city. (b) To have the perceptive and rational power temporarily suspended; as, we lose ourselves in sleep. {To lose sight of}. (a) To cease to see; as, to lose sight of the land. (b) To overlook; to forget; to fail to perceive; as, he lost sight of the issue.
\Lose\, v. i. To suffer loss, disadvantage, or defeat; to be worse off, esp. as the result of any kind of contest. We 'll . . . hear poor rogues Talk of court news; and we'll talk with them too, Who loses and who wins; who's in, who's out. --Shak.