What does “lose” mean?
- 1
verbto be unable to find something
I lost my keys again.
- 2
verbto not win a game, competition or argument
Our team lost the final match.
- 3
verbto have less of something, or stop having it
She lost her job last year.
Lose at a glance
- Part of speech
- verb
- CEFR level
- A2 (elementary)
- Pronunciation
- /luz/ · LOOZ
- Forms
- lost, losing
How to use “lose” correctly
Don’t confuse “lose” (/luz/, verb) with “loose” (/lus/, adjective meaning not tight).
Common phrases with “lose”
- lose weight
- lose your way
- lose a game
- lose touch
Synonyms, opposites and related words
Word family
- loss
- loser
- lost
“lose” is on these word lists
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