Dictionary
Thesaurus
Reference
Translate
Web
Related Searches
on Ask.com
Synonyms
Nearby Entries
lost - 8 dictionary results

lost

  [lawst, lost]
Use lost in a Sentence
–adjective
1. no longer possessed or retained: lost friends.
2. no longer to be found: lost articles.
3. having gone astray or missed the way; bewildered as to place, direction, etc.: lost children.
4. not used to good purpose, as opportunities, time, or labor; wasted: a lost advantage.
5. being something that someone has failed to win: a lost prize.
6. ending in or attended with defeat: a lost battle.
7. destroyed or ruined: lost ships.
8. preoccupied; rapt: He seems lost in thought.
9. distracted; distraught; desperate; hopeless: the lost look of a man trapped and afraid.
–verb (used with object), verb (used without object)
10. pt. and pp. of lose.
—Idioms
11. get lost, Slang.
a. to absent oneself: I think I'll get lost before an argument starts.
b. to stop being a nuisance: If they call again, tell them to get lost.
12. lost to,
a. no longer belonging to.
b. no longer possible or open to: The opportunity was lost to him.
c. insensible to: lost to all sense of duty.
Synonyms:
1. forfeited, gone, missing. 3. confused, perplexed. 4. squandered.

Antonyms:
1. found.

lose

  [looz] verb, lost, los⋅ing.
–verb (used with object)
1. to come to be without (something in one's possession or care), through accident, theft, etc., so that there is little or no prospect of recovery: I'm sure I've merely misplaced my hat, not lost it.
2. to fail inadvertently to retain (something) in such a way that it cannot be immediately recovered: I just lost a dime under this sofa.
3. to suffer the deprivation of: to lose one's job; to lose one's life.
4. to be bereaved of by death: to lose a sister.
5. to fail to keep, preserve, or maintain: to lose one's balance; to lose one's figure.
6. (of a clock or watch) to run slower by: The watch loses three minutes a day.
7. to give up; forfeit the possession of: to lose a fortune at the gaming table.
8. to get rid of: to lose one's fear of the dark; to lose weight.
9. to bring to destruction or ruin (usually used passively): Ship and crew were lost.
10. to condemn to hell; damn.
11. to have slip from sight, hearing, attention, etc.: to lose him in the crowd.
12. to stray from or become ignorant of (one's way, directions, etc.): to lose one's bearings.
13. to leave far behind in a pursuit, race, etc.; outstrip: She managed to lose the other runners on the final lap of the race.
14. to use to no purpose; waste: to lose time in waiting.
15. to fail to have, get, catch, etc.; miss: to lose a bargain.
16. to fail to win (a prize, stake, etc.): to lose a bet.
17. to be defeated in (a game, lawsuit, battle, etc.): He has lost very few cases in his career as a lawyer.
18. to cause the loss of: The delay lost the battle for them.
19. to let (oneself) go astray, miss the way, etc.: We lost ourselves in the woods.
20. to allow (oneself) to become absorbed or engrossed in something and oblivious to all else: I had lost myself in thought.
21. (of a physician) to fail to preserve the life of (a patient).
22. (of a woman) to fail to be delivered of (a live baby) because of miscarriage, complications in childbirth, etc.
–verb (used without object)
23. to suffer loss: to lose on a contract.
24. to suffer defeat or fail to win, as in a contest, race, or game: We played well, but we lost.
25. to depreciate in effectiveness or in some other essential quality: a classic that loses in translation.
26. (of a clock, watch, etc.) to run slow.
—Verb phrase
27. lose out, to suffer defeat or loss; fail to obtain something desired: He got through the preliminaries, but lost out in the finals.
—Idiom
28. lose face. face (def. 48).
Origin:
bef. 900; ME losen, OE -lēosan; r. ME lesen, itself also reflecting OE -lēosan; c. G verlieren, Goth fraliusan to lose. See loss
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To lost
lose   (lōōz)   
v.   lost (lôst, lŏst), los·ing, los·es

v.   tr.
  1. To be unsuccessful in retaining possession of; mislay: He's always losing his car keys.
    1. To be deprived of (something one has had): lost her art collection in the fire; lost her job.
    2. To be left alone or desolate because of the death of: lost his wife.
    3. To be unable to keep alive: a doctor who has lost very few patients.
    4. To let (oneself) become unable to find the way.
    5. To remove (oneself), as from everyday reality into a fantasy world.
    6. To elude or outdistance: lost their pursuers.
    7. To be outdistanced by: chased the thieves but lost them.
  3. To be unable to keep control or allegiance of: lost his temper at the meeting; is losing supporters by changing his mind.
  4. To fail to win; fail in: lost the game; lost the court case.
  5. To fail to use or take advantage of: Don't lose a chance to improve your position.
  6. To fail to hear, see, or understand: We lost the plane in the fog. I lost her when she started speaking about thermodynamics.
    1. To let (oneself) become unable to find the way.
    2. To remove (oneself), as from everyday reality into a fantasy world.
    3. To elude or outdistance: lost their pursuers.
    4. To be outdistanced by: chased the thieves but lost them.
  8. To rid oneself of: lost five pounds.
  9. To consume aimlessly; waste: lost a week in idle occupations.
  10. To wander from or become ignorant of: lose one's way.
    1. To elude or outdistance: lost their pursuers.
    2. To be outdistanced by: chased the thieves but lost them.
  12. To become slow by (a specified amount of time). Used of a timepiece.
  13. To cause or result in the loss of: Failure to reply to the advertisement lost her the job.
  14. To cause to be destroyed. Usually used in the passive: Both planes were lost in the crash.
  15. To cause to be damned.
v.   intr.
  1. To suffer loss.
  2. To be defeated.
  3. To operate or run slow. Used of a timepiece.
Phrasal Verb(s):
lose outTo fail to achieve or receive an expected gain.

Idiom(s):
lose it Slang
  1. To lose control; blow up.
  2. To become deranged or mentally disturbed.
  3. To become less capable or proficient; decline.

Idiom(s):
lose out onTo miss (an opportunity, for example).

Idiom(s):
lose time
  1. To operate too slowly. Used of a timepiece.
  2. To delay advancement.

[Middle English losen, from Old English losian, to perish, from los, loss; see leu- in Indo-European roots.]
lost   (lôst, lŏst)   
v.  Past tense and past participle of lose.
adj.  
  1. Unable to find one's way: a lost child.
    1. No longer in the possession, care, or control of someone or something: a lost pen.
    2. No longer in existence; vanished or spent: lost youth.
    3. No longer known or practiced: a lost art.
    4. Beyond reach, communication, or influence: The expedition was lost to the world for two months.
    5. Completely involved or absorbed; rapt: lost in thought.
    6. Bewildered or confused: I'm lost—can you start over?
  3. Not used to one's benefit or advantage: a lost opportunity.
  4. Having not been or unlikely to be won; unsuccessful: a lost battle; a lost cause.
  5. Beyond recovery or redemption; fallen or destroyed: a lost soul.
    1. Completely involved or absorbed; rapt: lost in thought.
    2. Bewildered or confused: I'm lost—can you start over?
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

Lost

Lost\, a. [Prop. p. p. of OE. losien. See Lose, v. t.]

1. Parted with unwillingly or unintentionally; not to be found; missing; as, a lost book or sheep.

2. Parted with; no longer held or possessed; as, a lost limb; lost honor.

3. Not employed or enjoyed; thrown away; employed ineffectually; wasted; squandered; as, a lost day; a lost opportunity or benefit.

5. Having wandered from, or unable to find, the way; bewildered; perplexed; as, a child lost in the woods; a stranger lost in London.

6. Ruined or destroyed, either physically or morally; past help or hope; as, a ship lost at sea; a woman lost to virtue; a lost soul.

7. Hardened beyond sensibility or recovery; alienated; insensible; as, lost to shame; lost to all sense of honor.

8. Not perceptible to the senses; no longer visible; as, an island lost in a fog; a person lost in a crowd.

9. Occupied with, or under the influence of, something, so as to be insensible of external things; as, to be lost in thought.

Lost motion (Mach.), the difference between the motion of a driver and that of a follower, due to the yielding of parts or looseness of joints.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Cite This Source
Language Translation for : lost
Spanish: perdido,
German: verloren,
Japanese: なくした
More Translations »

lost  (adj.)
"defeated" (c.1300), "wasted, spent in vain," c.1500; also "no longer to be found" (1526), from the pp. of lose (q.v.). Lost Cause in ref. to the Southern U.S. bid for independence is from the title of E.A. Pollard's history of the CSA and the rebellion (1866). Lost Generation in ref. to the period 1914-18 first attested 1926 in Hemingway's "The Sun Also Rises," where he credits it to Gertrude Stein.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source

Main Entry: lost
Function: adjective
1 : not made use of, won, or claimed <lost opportunity costs>
2 : unintentionally gone out of or missing from one's possession or control
3 : ruined or destroyed physically; also : in an unknown physical condition or location lost ship>
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
Cite This Source

lost

In addition to the idioms beginning with lost, also see get lost; he who hesitates is lost; make up for lost time; no love lost; you've lost me. Also see lose.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source
Search another word or see lost on Thesaurus | Reference