lose
verb
uk/luːz/ uslost | lost [ T ]
to no longer have something or have less of something, because it has been taken away from you, or you fail to keep it:
Manufacturing lost 11,000 jobs in June after several months of small increases.
She was among 40 people who lost their jobs when the plant closed.
lose business/market share/sales The company has steadily lost market share over the past 15 years.
The company has lost its place as the world's number one automaker.
lose sth to sth Last year, the company lost at least 30 working days to strikes.
lose sth to sb The business began to lose clients to the new supermarket.
The organization has lost the finest director it has ever had.
Homeowners technically could still lose their homes over unpaid rent.
[ T ]
if you lose time, you waste it:
Four million working hours were lost last year through stress-related illnesses.
There is no time to be lost in securing the deal.
See also
lost time
[ I or T ]
to spend more money than you receive, fail to keep money that you had, or cause a loss of money:
The airline lost £40m from a strike at the airport in the summer.
Companies must compensate employees who lose financially because of a misleading, inaccurate, or unfair reference.
lose sb sth We cannot continue with an area of business that is losing us millions.
lose sth on sth He lost $50000 on the stock market.
The company has lost money over the last few years.
[ T ]
to go down in price or value:
The company's shares lost 10.75p to 416p .
The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 107.42 points in the past two days.
lose face
to lose the respect of other people because of something you have done:
Both companies are denying responsibility for the crisis, as neither wants to lose face.
See also
loss
lose ground
to become less popular, fall in value, or be given less support:
California still tops the 50 states in tech exports but is losing ground.
The stock started losing ground with the rest of the market in midmorning and closed down 18p.
lose sight of sth
to forget about an important idea or fact because you are thinking about other things:
In their attempts to increase profits, they have lost sight of the importance of customer satisfaction.
lose your shirt informal
to lose a lot of money:
It would be wrong to suggest that all investors have lost their shirts.
Phrasal verb
lose out