lose

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   miss from one's possessions

   lose sight of

2. 2
   verb

   To cease to have (something) in one's possession or capability.

   If you lose that ten-pound note, you'll be sorry.

3. 3
   verb

   To wander from; to miss, so as not to be able to find; to go astray from.

   I lost my way in the forest.

4. 4
   verb

   To become a defeated competitor in (a game, competition, trial, etc).

   We lost the football match.

5. 5
   verb

   To be defeated (in a game, competition, contest, etc.)

   The team scored four goals but still managed to lose.

6. 6
   verb

   To be unable to follow or trace (somebody or something) any longer.

   The policeman lost the robber he was chasing.

7. 7
   verb

   To cause (somebody) to be unable to follow or trace one any longer.

   lose the cops

8. 8
   verb

   To cease exhibiting; to overcome (a behavior or emotion).

   I can see Mickie getting hot, I'm about to grab his arm, hold him back, say, Whoa, whoa, Mick, not here, it ain't worth it what happened inside just now. But I don't need to because Mickie loses his anger, starts smiling at ponytail, then melodramatically starts looking around at the men and women on the street going in and out of the courthouse.

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.