lu:z 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). øbe 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. øølosable adj. [OE losian perish,
destroy f. los loss]
