loss

Meaning

Noun

1. (countable) The result of no longer possessing an object, a function, or a characteristic due to external causes or misplacement.
2. (uncountable) The destruction or ruin of an object.
3. (countable) Something that has been destroyed or ruined.
4. (countable) Defeat; an instance of being defeated.
5. (countable) The death of a person or animal.
6. (uncountable) The condition of grief caused by losing someone or something, especially someone who has died.
7. (countable) The sum an entity loses on balance.
8. (countable, uncountable) Electricity of kinetic power expended without doing useful work.

Verb

Alternative spelling of lost.

Opposite of

gain, win, victory, profit

Synonyms

damage

destruction

waste

harm

injury

ruin

defeat

detriment

deprivation

failure

disadvantage

losing

decay

deficit

negative profit

impairment

decrease

disappearance

hurt

defect

flaw

wastage

bad

👎

imperfection

decline

forfeit

bereavement

red ink

sacrifice

lose

red

fall

damages

casualty

release

departure

attenuation

perishing

passing

deficiency

overthrow

perdition

drop

decrement

doom

discomfiture

going

fine

bad debt

expiration

Translations

perte

Verlust

pérdida

perdita

verlies

perda

schade

απώλεια

Schaden

danno

daño

pèrdua

dany

Pronounced as (IPA)

/lɒs/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: los

Inherited from Old English: los

Cognate with Icelandic: los

Cognate with Old English: lor

Cognate with Middle High German: verlor

In summary

From Middle English los, from Old English los (“damage, destruction, loss”), from Proto-West Germanic *los, from Proto-Germanic *lusą (“dissolution, break-up, loss”), from Proto-Indo-European *lews- (“to cut, sunder, separate, loose, lose”).
Cognate with Icelandic los (“dissolution, looseness, break-up”), Old English lor, forlor (“loss, ruin”), Middle High German verlor (“loss, ruin”). More at lose.