Word Explorer

Lose

/luːz/

To cause (something) to cease to be in one's possession or capability due to unfortunate or unknown circumstances, events or reasons.

Full Dictionary Entry

📖 Definitions of "Lose"

verb

1
To cause (something) to cease to be in one's possession or capability due to unfortunate or unknown circumstances, events or reasons.
"He lost his hearing in the explosion."
2
To wander from; to miss, so as not to be able to find; to go astray from.
"I lost my way in the forest."
3
To fail to win (a game, competition, trial, etc).
"We lost the football match."
4
To be unable to follow or trace (somebody or something) any longer.
"Mission control lost the satellite as its signal died down."

🔄 Synonyms of "Lose"

7 synonyms found via WordNet and Google Books.

Word	Definition
missnoun	(transitive) To become aware of the loss or absence of; to feel the want or need of, sometimes with regret; to feel sadness at the absence of somebody or something.
recedeverb	To move back; to retreat; to withdraw.
misplaceverb	(transitive) To put something somewhere and then forget its location; to mislay.
drop offverb	(idiomatic, transitive, especially US) To deliver; to deposit or leave; to allow passengers to alight.
mislayverb	To leave or lay something in the wrong place and then forget where one put it.
fall backverb	To retreat.
fall behindverb	(idiomatic, intransitive) To be late (for a regular event)

↔️ Antonyms of "Lose"

Words with the opposite meaning.

Word	Definition
advancenoun	To help the progress of (something); to further.
keepverb	(transitive) To continue in (a course or mode of action); to not intermit or fall from; to uphold or maintain.
findverb	(transitive) To encounter or discover something being searched for; to locate.
winverb	(transitive, intransitive) To reach some destination or object, despite difficulty or toil (now usually intransitive, with preposition or locative adverb).
regainverb	(transitive) To get back; to recover possession of.
make headwayverb	(idiomatic) To progress; to move forward.
hold onverb	(idiomatic) Wait a short while.
break evenverb	(idiomatic) To neither gain nor lose money.
get aheadverb	(informal) To advance toward success.
gain groundverb	To make progress or obtain advantage; to gain traction.
gainverb	(intransitive) To have or receive advantage or profit; to acquire gain; to grow rich; to advance in interest, health, or happiness; to make progress.
profitnoun	(accounting, economics) Total income or cash flow minus expenditures. The money or other benefit a non-governmental organization or individual receives in exchange for products and services sold at an advertised price.

💡 Words with a Similar Meaning to "Lose"

Found via reverse dictionary — words that share a conceptual meaning.

Word	Definition
missverb	(transitive) To become aware of the loss or absence of; to feel the want or need of, sometimes with regret; to feel sadness at the absence of somebody or something.
recedeverb	To move back; to retreat; to withdraw.
misplaceverb	(transitive) To put something somewhere and then forget its location; to mislay.
fall behindverb	(idiomatic, intransitive) To be late (for a regular event)
mislayverb	To leave or lay something in the wrong place and then forget where one put it.
fall backverb	To retreat.
drop offverb	(idiomatic, transitive, especially US) To deliver; to deposit or leave; to allow passengers to alight.
lossverb	(countable) The result of no longer possessing an object, a function, or a characteristic due to external causes or misplacement.
ruinverb	To destroy or render something no longer usable or operable.
astray	In a wrong or unknown and wrongly-motivated direction.
bogged	Stuck; unable to progress; having been bogged down.
disappearverb	(intransitive) To vanish.
damageverb	(transitive) To impair the soundness, goodness, or value of; to harm or cause destruction.
sufferverb	(intransitive) To feel pain.
killverb	(transitive) To put to death; to extinguish the life of.
fallverb	(heading, intransitive) To be moved downwards.
depriveverb	(transitive) Used with “of”, to take something away from (someone) and keep it away; to deny someone something.
downverb	(transitive) To knock (someone or something) down; to cause to come down; to fell.
declineverb	(transitive) To choose not to do something; refuse, forbear, refrain.
abandonverb	(transitive) To give up or relinquish control of, to surrender or to give oneself over, or to yield to one's emotions.