loss

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   The fact of no longer having something you once had.

   The loss of his job left him deeply worried.

2. 2
   noun

   The death of a person you love.

   I'm so sorry for the loss of your grandfather.

3. 3
   noun

   A defeat in a game or competition.

   Everyone expected them to win, so their loss was a shock.

4. 4
   noun

   The amount by which a business spends more than it earns.

   The company operated at a loss last year.

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.

Topics