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loss - 9 dictionary results

loss

  [laws, los]
Use loss in a Sentence
–noun
1. detriment, disadvantage, or deprivation from failure to keep, have, or get: to bear the loss of a robbery.
2. something that is lost: The painting was the greatest loss from the robbery.
3. an amount or number lost: The loss of life increased each day.
4. the state of being deprived of or of being without something that one has had: the loss of old friends.
5. death, or the fact of being dead: to mourn the loss of a grandparent.
6. the accidental or inadvertent losing of something dropped, misplaced, stolen, etc.: to discover the loss of a document.
7. a losing by defeat; failure to win: the loss of a bet.
8. failure to make good use of something, as time; waste.
9. failure to preserve or maintain: loss of engine speed at high altitudes.
10. destruction or ruin: the loss of a ship by fire.
11. a thing or a number of related things that are lost or destroyed to some extent: Most buildings in the burned district were a total loss.
12. Military.
a. the losing of soldiers by death, capture, etc.
b. Often, losses. the number of soldiers so lost.
13. Insurance. occurrence of an event, as death or damage of property, for which the insurer makes indemnity under the terms of a policy.
14. Electricity. a measure of the power lost in a system, as by conversion to heat, expressed as a relation between power input and power output, as the ratio of or difference between the two quantities.
—Idiom
15. at a loss,
a. at less than cost; at a financial loss.
b. in a state of bewilderment or uncertainty; puzzled; perplexed: We are completely at a loss for an answer to the problem.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME; OE los destruction; c. ON los looseness, breaking up. See lose, loose

Synonyms:
4. privation, deprivation.

Antonyms:
1. gain.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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loss   (lôs, lŏs)   
n.  
  1. The act or an instance of losing: nine losses during the football season.
    1. One that is lost: wrote their flooded house off as a loss.
    2. The condition of being deprived or bereaved of something or someone: mourning their loss.
    3. The amount of something lost: selling at a 50 percent loss.
  3. The harm or suffering caused by losing or being lost.
  4. losses People lost in wartime; casualties.
  5. Destruction: The war caused incalculable loss.
  6. Electricity The power decrease caused by resistance in a circuit, circuit element, or device.
  7. The amount of a claim on an insurer by an insured.

[Middle English los, from Old English; see lose.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Loss

Loss\, n. [AS. los loss, losing, fr. le['o]san to lose. ?. See Lose, v. t.]

1. The act of losing; failure; destruction; privation; as, the loss of property; loss of money by gaming; loss of health or reputation.

Assured loss before the match be played. --Shak.

2. The state of losing or having lost; the privation, defect, misfortune, harm, etc., which ensues from losing.

Though thou repent, yet I have still the loss. --Shak

3. That which is lost or from which one has parted; waste; -- opposed to gain or increase; as, the loss of liquor by leakage was considerable.

4. The state of being lost or destroyed; especially, the wreck or foundering of a ship or other vessel.

5. Failure to gain or win; as, loss of a race or battle.

6. Failure to use advantageously; as, loss of time.

7. (Mil.) Killed, wounded, and captured persons, or captured property.

8. (Insurance) Destruction or diminution of value, if brought about in a manner provided for in the insurance contract (as destruction by fire or wreck, damage by water or smoke), or the death or injury of an insured person; also, the sum paid or payable therefor; as, the losses of the company this year amount to a million of dollars.

To bear a loss, to make a loss good; also, to sustain a loss without sinking under it.

To be at a loss, to be in a state of uncertainty.

Syn: Privation; detriment; injury; damage.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : loss
Spanish: pérdida,
German: der Verlust,
Japanese: 失うこと
More Translations »

loss

n. Something (not a person) that loses; a situation in which something is losing. Emphatic forms include `moby loss', and `total loss', `complete loss'. Common interjections are "What a loss!" and "What a moby loss!" Note that `moby loss' is OK even though **`moby loser' is not used; applied to an abstract noun, moby is simply a magnifier, whereas when applied to a person it implies substance and has positive connotations. Compare lossage.
Jargon File 4.2.0
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loss 
O.E. los "loss, destruction," from P.Gmc. *lausam- (see lose). The modern word, however, probably evolved 14c. from lost, the original pp. of lose. Phrase at a loss (1592) originally refers to hounds losing the scent. To cut one's losses is from 1912.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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loss

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

Wall Street Words: An A to Z Guide to Investment Terms by David L. Scott.
Copyright © 2003. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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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.
actual loss
: the identifiable and calculable monetary detriment that is suffered or will be suffered as a result of an act or event
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
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
casualty loss
: loss of property as a result of a fire, storm, shipwreck, or other catastrophic event
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
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
direct loss
: a loss arising directly from an act or event —compare CONSEQUENTIAL LOSS in this entry
in·di·rect loss
: CONSEQUENTIAL LOSS in this entry
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
ordinary loss
: a loss from the sale or exchange of any asset that is not a capital asset
partial loss
: a loss arising from damage to property that does not render it a total loss
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
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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loss jargon
Something (not a person) that loses; a situation in which something is losing. Emphatic forms include "moby loss", and "total loss", "complete loss". Common interjections are "What a loss!" and "What a moby loss!" Note that "moby loss" is OK even though **"moby loser" is not used; applied to an abstract noun, moby is simply a magnifier, whereas when applied to a person it implies substance and has positive connotations.
Compare lossage.
(1995-04-19)

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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loss

see at a loss; cut one's losses; dead loss.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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