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]
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.
something that is lost; "the car was a total loss"; "loss of livestock left the rancher bankrupt"
2.
gradual decline in amount or activity; "weight loss"; "a serious loss of business"
3.
the act of losing someone or something; "everyone expected him to win so his loss was a shock"
4.
the disadvantage that results from losing something; "his loss of credibility led to his resignation"; "losing him is no great deprivation"
5.
the experience of losing a loved one; "he sympathized on the loss of their grandfather"
6.
the amount by which the cost of a business exceeds its revenue; "the company operated at a loss last year"; "the company operated in the red last year" [ant: gain]
lossjargon 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)
Gain\ (g[=a]n), n. [OE. gain, gein, ga[yogh]hen, gain, advantage, Icel. gagn; akin to Sw. gagn, Dan. gavn, cf. Goth. gageigan to gain. The word was prob. influenced by F. gain gain, OF. gaain. Cf. Gain, v. t.]1. That which is gained, obtained, or acquired, as increase, profit, advantage, or benefit; -- opposed to loss. But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. --Phil. iii. 7. Godliness with contentment is great gain. --1 Tim. vi. 6. Every one shall share in the gains. --Shak. 2. The obtaining or amassing of profit or valuable possessions; acquisition; accumulation. "The lust of gain." --Tennyson.
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