at a loss

loss   (lôs, lŏs)    n.   The act or an instance of losing: nine losses during the football season. One that is lost: wrote their flooded house off as a loss. The condition of being deprived or bereaved of something or someone: mourning their loss. The amount of something lost: selling at a 50 percent loss. The harm or suffering caused by losing or being lost. losses People lost in wartime; casualties. Destruction: The war caused incalculable loss. Electricity The power decrease caused by resistance in a circuit, circuit element, or device. The amount of a claim on an insurer by an insured. [Middle English los, from Old English; see lose.]

loss 

loss

The deficiency of the amount received as opposed to the amount invested in a transaction. Compare gain. See also net loss.

Main Entry: loss
Function: noun
1 : physical, emotional, or esp. economic harm or damage sustained: as a : decrease in value, capital, or amount —compare GAIN b : an amount by which the cost of something (as goods or services) exceeds the selling price —compare PROFIT c : something unintentionally destroyed or placed beyond recovery d : the amount of an insured's financial detriment due to the occurrence of a stipulated event (as death, injury, destruction, or damage) in such a manner as to create liability in the insurer under the terms of the policy
NOTE: As a general rule, economic losses are deductible from adjusted gross income under section 165 of the Internal Revenue Code. There are, however, numerous exceptions and limitations.

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actual loss
: the identifiable and calculable monetary detriment that is suffered or will be suffered as a result of an act or event

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actual total loss
: a loss in marine insurance in which the property (as a vessel or cargo) cannot be repaired or recovered —compare CONSTRUCTIVE TOTAL LOSS in this entry

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capital loss
: the amount by which the book value of a capital asset exceeds the amount realized from the sale or exchange of the asset

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casualty loss
: loss of property as a result of a fire, storm, shipwreck, or other catastrophic event

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consequential loss
: a loss that arises as an indirect result of an act or event called also indirect loss —compare DIRECT LOSS in this entry

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constructive total loss
: a loss in marine insurance in which the cost of repairing or recovering a ship or its cargo would be more than the ship or cargo is worth —compare ACTUAL TOTAL LOSS in this entry

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direct loss
: a loss arising directly from an act or event —compare CONSEQUENTIAL LOSS in this entry

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in·di·rect loss
: CONSEQUENTIAL LOSS in this entry

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net op·er·at·ing loss
: the amount by which the expenses of operating a business exceed the income derived from it —see also CARRYBACK, CARRYOVER

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ordinary loss
: a loss from the sale or exchange of any asset that is not a capital asset

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partial loss
: a loss arising from damage to property that does not render it a total loss

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total loss
: a loss arising from damage to property that is so substantial as to make the property valueless to an insured
2 : the act or fact of suffering physical, emotional, or esp. economic harm or detriment

at a loss

1. Below cost, as in The store was doing so badly that it was selling merchandise at a loss.

2. Puzzled, perplexed, in a state of uncertainty, as in When his letters were returned unopened, John was at a loss as to what to do next. This usage was originally applied to hounds who had lost the scent or track of their prey. [Mid-1600s]

3. at a loss for words. Unable or uncertain as to what to say. For example, Father's tirade left us all at a loss for words. [Late 1600s]