Meaning & Definition of Lose in English

1. Fail to keep or to maintain

• Cease to have, either physically or in an abstract sense

• "She lost her purse when she left it unattended on her seat"

2. Fail to win

• "We lost the battle but we won the war"

3. Suffer the loss of a person through death or removal

• "She lost her husband in the war"

• "The couple that wanted to adopt the child lost her when the biological parents claimed her"

4. Place (something) where one cannot find it again

• "I misplaced my eyeglasses"

5. Miss from one's possessions

• Lose sight of

• "I've lost my glasses again!"

6. Allow to go out of sight

• "The detective lost the man he was shadowing after he had to stop at a red light"

7. Fail to make money in a business

• Make a loss or fail to profit

• "I lost thousands of dollars on that bad investment!"

• "The company turned a loss after the first year"

8. Fail to get or obtain

• "I lost the opportunity to spend a year abroad"

9. Retreat

10. Fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind

• "I missed that remark"

• "She missed his point"

• "We lost part of what he said"

11. Be set at a disadvantage

• "This author really suffers in translation"