📒 to be unable to find something/somebody
- I've lost my keys.
- The tickets seem to have got lost.
- She lost her husband in the crowd.
📒 to have something/somebody taken away from you, especially as a result of an accident, dying, etc.
- She lost a leg in a car crash.
- Some families lost everything (= all they owned) in the flood.
- She lost her baby (= had a miscarriage) three months into the pregnancy.
📒 to have to give up something; to fail to keep something/somebody
- He's lost his job.
- You will lose your deposit if you cancel the order.
- Sit down or you'll lose your seat.
📒 to no longer have something, or have less of something than you had before, especially as a result of getting older
- to lose your hair/teeth
- to lose your sight/eyesight/hearing/memory
- There's new hope for people trying to lose weight.
📒 to have less and less of a quality or ability, especially until you no longer have any of it
- She seemed to have lost interest in food.
- to lose faith/confidence
- He lost his nerve at the last minute.
📒 to be defeated; to fail to win a competition, a court case, an argument, etc.; to cause somebody to be defeated
- lose something So far they haven't lost a game.
- to lose a race/an election/a battle/a war
- lose to somebody We lost to a stronger team.
📒 to fail to keep something you want or need, especially money; to cause somebody to fail to keep something
- lose something The business is losing money.
- Poetry always loses something in translation.
- lose something by doing something You have nothing to lose by telling the truth.
📒 to fail to get, hear or understand something
- His words were lost (= could not be heard) in the applause.
📒 to be no longer understood by somebody
- I'm afraid you've lost me there.
📒 to escape from somebody/something
- We managed to lose our pursuers in the darkness.
📒 to waste time or an opportunity
- We lost twenty minutes changing a tyre.
- Hurry—there's no time to lose!
- He lost no time in setting out for London.
📒 if a watch or clock loses or loses time, it goes too slowly or becomes a particular amount of time behind the correct time
- This clock loses two minutes a day.
📒 to become unable to control your emotions or behaviour
- Then she just lost it and started screaming.