Word Direct Answers

What does "loss" mean?

Loss: The state of losing or having lost; the privation, defect, misfortune, harm, etc., which ensues from losing. Though thou repent, yet I have still the loss. Shak 3. That which is lost or from which one has parted; waste; -- opposed to gain or increase; as, the loss of liquor by leakage was considerable.

Additional senses

  1. 2.The state of being lost or destroyed; especially, the wreck or foundering of a ship or other vessel.
  2. 3.Failure to gain or win; as, loss of a race or battle.
  3. 4.Failure to use advantageously; as, loss of time.
  4. 5.(Mil.) Killed, wounded, and captured persons, or captured property.
  5. 6.(Insurance) Destruction or diminution of value, if brought about in a manner provided for in the insurance contract (as destruction by fire or wreck, damage by water or smoke), or the death or injury of an insured person; also, the sum paid or payable therefor; as, the losses of the company this year amount to a million of dollars. To bear a loss, to make a loss good; also, to sustain a loss without sinking under it. -- To be at a loss, to be in a state of uncertainty.

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