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lose
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/luz/ 
| present tense | |
| I/you/we/they | lose |
| he/she/it | loses |
| present participle | losing |
| past tense | lost |
| past participle | lost |
- 1[transitive] to stop having something because it has been taken from you or destroyed
Mike lost his job last year.
Register now and don’t lose your right to vote.
The family lost everything when their home burned down.
lose someone something (=make someone lose something):An unreasonably high exchange rate lost them export markets.
lose something to someone:They feared losing the sale to a rival company.
- 3[intransitive/transitive] to not win a race, competition, fight, etc.
“How did you do in the quiz?” “We lost.”
lose to/against someone:The Rams lost 24–14 to the Giants.
lose by something:They lost by only one point.
lose someone something (=make someone lose something):Those comments may well have lost them the election.
- 9[transitive] if you lose time or an opportunity or chance, you use it up or waste it
a plan to reduce the amount of working time lost through sickness
He must realize that an outstanding opportunity has been lost.
There’s no time to lose (=used for saying that it is necessary to do something as quickly as possible because the situation is urgent).
phrases
someone can’t lose
spokenhave a lot/too much to lose
have nothing to lose
lose a baby
lose your balance/footing
lose the battle but win the war
lose consciousness
lose face
lose ground
lose your head
lose heart
lose your heart to someone
literarylose height
lose something in translation/interpretation etc.
lose it
informallose your life
lose your nerve
lose no time in doing something
to do something immediatelyShe lost no time in telling Sonia what had happened.
lose your rag
British informallose sight of
lose your temper
lose someone to something
lose your touch
lose touch (with something)
lose touch/contact (with someone)
lose track (of)
lose your voice
lose your way
lose yourself in something
not lose sleep over
phrasal verbs
This is the American English definition of lose. View British English definition of lose.
Change your default dictionary and thesaurus to British English.
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