Word Direct Answers

What does "lose" mean?

Lose: 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.

Additional senses

  1. 2.3. 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.
  2. 3.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.
  3. 4.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 .
  4. 5.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.
  5. 6.I fought the battle bravely which I lost, And lost it but to Macedonians. Dryden.
  6. 7.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.
  7. 8.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.
  8. 9.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.

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