loss
noun
- hurtful condition of having lost something or someone
- opposite of profit
- unsuccessful finish in a struggle
- decrease, fall
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /lɒs/ / /lɔs/ / /lɑs/
noun
Etymology: 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.
- The result of no longer possessing an object, a function, or a characteristic due to external causes or misplacement.
“loss of limb; weight loss; loss of cognitive functions; loss of appetite.”
“People are less willing to take a risk to make a gain than to to avoid a loss.”
- The destruction or ruin of an object.
- Something that has been destroyed or ruined.
“It was a terrible crash; both cars were total losses.”
- Defeat; an instance of being defeated.
“The match ended in their first loss of the season.”
- The death of a person or animal.
“We mourn his loss.”
“The battle was won, but losses were great.”
- The condition of grief caused by losing someone or something, especially someone who has died.
“Her daughter's sense of loss eventually led to depression.”
- The sum an entity loses on balance.
“The sum of expenditures and taxes minus total income is a loss, when this difference is positive.”
- Electricity of kinetic power expended without doing useful work.
“The inefficiency of many old-fashioned power plants exceeds 60% loss before the subsequent losses during transport over the grid.”
verb
Etymology: Pronunciation spelling of lost, representing African-American Vernacular English.
- Alternative spelling of lost.