🔑 To misplace 🕊️ To have someone die 🥈 To not win 🚪 To miss 💸 To decrease 🎧 To forget surroundings

to lose

∞ 1.1

Fail to understand or follow what someone says

verb
/luːz/

: perder

If you don't pay attention during the meeting, you might lose important information.
lose sight of
lose an opportunity
lose track of

That's where they lose me and that's X, right?

Examples

And one day, one day you lose your fight and you stop trying.
And some questions you lose just by trying to answer them.
Apparently staying in the middle means I lose people on the left and right.
Now we're gonna lose out on the social security payment.

Jack Be Nimble (2022)
Three, do not lose sight on your sport.
But once individuals obtain that authority, they tend to lose focus on the needs of others.

Academic text (2017)
But how does shame cause us to lose compassion for ourselves?
That's right, we must not lose the AI arms race.
Teachers are left to wonder if these gains outweigh the risk of losing academic ground.

Academic text (2012)
To put it bluntly, Israeli Jews have lost hope in the possibility of achieving peace.

Academic text (2017)

Synonyms

to miss

vsto lose

518 1.7

To not notice or hear something important

is more general, also applying to failing to get or understand

to misunderstand

vsto lose

53 1.8

To think something is true when it is not

is the wider verb that also covers missing chances or items

to miss an opportunity

vsto lose

14 2.8

Fail to use a chance to do something you want

is broader, meaning fail to get, notice, or understand things

Antonyms

to understand

∞ 1.0

To know the meaning of something

to gain

∞ 1.4

To get something useful, often by effort, like money or skills

Idioms

to lose one's virginity

NSFW

56 8.4

To have sex for the first time

to lose my touch

12 7.5

No longer have the skill you once had to do something well

to lose face

Informal

11 6.6

To feel embarrassed and seem less respected in front of other people

to lose the war

8 5.9

Fail to reach the main goal even if you win small victories

to lose one's shirt

Informal

3 7.3

To be left with almost no money after a bad bet or investment

to lose one's touch

3 6.0

To become less good at something you used to do well

to lose one's temper

2 3.7

To suddenly become very angry and not be able to control yourself

to lose one's heart

1 4.7

To fall in love suddenly, often without planning

to lose one's cookies

Informal

1 9.9

To become very upset or frightened

to lose one's head

Informal

1 6.4

To become very upset and unable to think clearly

to lose one's tongue

1 8.1

Become unable to speak when you feel nervous or embarrassed

to lose one's heart to

1 4.4

To fall in love with someone or something

to lose one's mind

Informal

1 6.7

Become very anxious, confused, or upset and act in a way that does not make sense

to lose the bubble

Informal

1 9.9

Fail to follow what is happening and become confused

to win the battle but lose the war

Informal

1 7.1

Get a small success but lose a bigger long-term goal

to lose one's cool

Informal

5.9

To suddenly become very angry and fail to control your feelings

to lose one's wits

7.9

To get very confused and unable to think clearly

to lose one's yarbles

Archaic

9.9

To start behaving in a strange and out of control way

to lose one's bottle

9.9

To become suddenly too afraid to do something you planned

to lose one's shit

Offensive

9.9

To suddenly become very angry or upset in a way you cannot control

to lose one's life

4.2

Die because of an accident, violence, or disaster

to lose the run of oneself

Archaic

9.9

Act in a confused or uncontrolled way because of strong emotion

Phrasal Verbs

to lose it

Informal

289 7.5

Suddenly stop controlling your feelings and become very angry or upset

to lose sight of

87 3.5

To stop being able to see a person or thing because something blocks your view

to lose track

85 3.7

To not know where something is or what is happening

to lose oneself

22 5.1

To become so focused on something that you do not notice anything else

to lose fat

4 3.0

To reduce the fat on your body by eating less and exercising

to lose oneself in nature

5.5

To become very focused on nature and forget daily worries

How Well

to grasp

146 4.1

to understand

∞ 1.0

to catch

474 2.1

to lose

∞ 1.1

to miss

518 1.7

Surface Forms

lose infinitive

losing present participle

loses third person singular

lost past

lost past participle

Etymology

Lose comes from the same root as loss and lost, which meant 'be without'. So when you 'lose' the point or 'lose' what someone said, you have become 'without' that idea or you have dropped the thread of the conversation.