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lose

Pronunciation: /luːz/

The English word “lose” has 16 meanings listed here.

verb

  1. To cease to have (something) in one's possession or capability.
  2. To have (an organ) removed from one's body, especially by accident.
  3. To shed (weight).
  4. To experience the death of (someone to whom one has an attachment, such as a relative or friend).
  5. To pay or owe (some wager) due from an unsuccessful bet or gamble.
  6. To be deprived of (some right or privileged access to something).
  7. To wander from; to miss, so as not to be able to find; to go astray from.
  8. To become a defeated competitor in (a game, competition, trial, etc).
  9. To be defeated (in a game, competition, contest, etc.)
  10. To be unable to follow or trace (somebody or something) any longer.
  11. To cause (somebody) to be unable to follow or trace one any longer.
  12. To cease exhibiting; to overcome (a behavior or emotion).
  13. To shed, remove, discard, or eliminate.
  14. Of a clock, to run slower than expected.
  15. To cause (someone) the loss of something; to deprive of.
  16. To fail to catch with the mind or senses; to miss.

Etymology

From Middle English losen, from Old English losian. The modern pronunciation with /uː/ (instead of the /oʊ~əʊ/ that would be expected from Early Modern /ɔː/) is due to conflation with loose.

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.