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

to lose

∞ 3.2

No longer have a person you care about, for example when they die

verb
/luːz/

: perder

So out of this, you lost both of your dogs.
lives lost
lose a family member
lose a spouse

I mean, I mean, as you know, I lost my dog Finney.

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Examples

I'm sure you've lost more friends than you can count.
Her words are intended to shock and elicit sympathy; she has lost a father figure and suffered disappointment.

Academic text (2015)
And Jim, of course, was lost at sea three years ago.
But it's more like you lose your soul when that happens.
But my mother was fine about losing her only daughter?

All of Us Strangers (2023)
- If I lose you, I lose everything.

Jack Be Nimble (1993)
All innocent lives, all lost much, much too soon.

Harvard University
Six females in the study lost their fathers, and one female lost her mother.

Academic text (2008)
It was hard enough to lose Jamie, but then to lose Michael, too, it was- - Mother used to say when, when he saved me, he saved himself.

Of Things Past (2023)
It is heartbreaking to lose a loved one unexpectedly.

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 Serious

to lose

∞ 3.2

to separate

481 2.9

to drift away

15 4.5

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, meaning 'be without'. So to 'lose' a person means to be left 'without' them, which is why we use it for death or separation.