Meanings
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1
verb
To stop having something, often by accident.
If you lose that ten-pound note, you'll be sorry.
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2
verb
To be beaten in a game, competition, or argument.
The team scored four goals but still managed to lose.
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3
verb
To be unable to find your way or to find something.
I lost my way in the forest.
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4
verb
To no longer be able to follow or see someone or something.
The police lost the robber they were chasing.
Thesaurus
Common collocations
Etymology
From Middle English losen, from Old English losian, from Proto-West Germanic *losōn, from Proto-Germanic *lusōną, *luzōną, from Proto-Germanic *lusą. The modern pronunciation with /uː/ (instead of the /oʊ~əʊ/ that would be expected from Early Modern /ɔː/) is due to conflation with loose.