loss
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English
Etymology 1
From Middle English los, from Old English los (“damage, destruction, loss”), from Proto-Germanic *lusą (“dissolution, break-up, loss”), from Proto-Indo-European *lews- (“to cut, sunder, separate, loose, lose”). Cognate with Icelandic los (“dissolution, looseness, break-up”), Old English lor, forlor (“loss, ruin”), Middle High German verlor (“loss, ruin”). More at lose.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /lɒs/
- (General American) IPA(key): /lɔs/
- (cot–caught merger, Canada) IPA(key): /lɑs/
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -ɒs, -ɔːs
Noun
loss (countable and uncountable, plural losses)
- (countable) The result of no longer possessing an object, a function, or a characteristic due to external causes or misplacement.
- Antonym: gain
- loss of limb; weight loss; loss of cognitive functions; loss of appetite.
- In other areas, glacier loss creates serious risk of a dry period across the Third Pole, Wang said.
- (uncountable) The destruction or ruin of an object.
- (countable) Something that has been destroyed or ruined.
- It was a terrible crash; both cars were total losses.
- (countable) Defeat; an instance of being defeated.
- (countable) The death of a person or animal.
- We mourn his loss.
- The battle was won, but losses were great.
- (uncountable) The condition of grief caused by losing someone or something, especially someone who has died.
- Her daughter's sense of loss eventually led to depression.
- (financial, countable) The sum an entity loses on balance.
- Antonym: profit
- The sum of expenditures and taxes minus total income is a loss, when this difference is positive.
- (engineering) Electricity of kinetic power expended without doing useful work.
- The inefficiency of many old-fashioned power plants exceeds 60% loss before the subsequent losses during transport over the grid.
Usage notes
- The possessive of loss is often constructed as loss of rather than 's loss.
- loss is often the subject of the verbs make or take. See Appendix:Collocations of do, have, make, and take
Derived terms
- at a loss
- at a loss for words
- blood loss, bloodloss
- bone loss
- capital loss
- core loss
- dead loss
- deadweight loss
- for a loss
- for the loss
- generation loss
- hair loss
- head loss
- hearing loss
- hull-loss accident
- instant loss 2koma
- loss and damage
- loss and gain are brothers twain
- loss function
- loss leader
- lossmaker, loss-maker
- loss-making
- loss of consortium
- loss of face
- loss of life
- loss of supply
- loss prevention
- loss ratio
- net loss
- net operating loss
- one man's loss is another man's gain
- operating loss
- path loss
- pregnancy loss
- profit and loss
- stop loss
- stop-loss
- stop-loss order
- stop loss order
- tackle for loss
- total loss
- wake loss
- weight loss
- without loss of generality
Related terms
Translations
the result of no longer possessing something
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destruction or ruin of an object
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something destroyed
defeat — see also defeat
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the death of a person or animal
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grief caused by losing someone or something
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financial: the sum lost on balance
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engineering: power expended without doing useful work
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
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Etymology 2
Pronunciation spelling of lost, representing African-American Vernacular English.
Verb
loss
- (colloquial) Alternative spelling of lost
Anagrams
Estonian
Etymology
Borrowed from German Schloss, from Middle High German slōz, from Old High German sloz.
Pronunciation
Noun
loss (genitive lossi, partitive lossi)
Declension
| Declension of loss (ÕS type 22e/riik, length gradation) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| singular | plural | ||
| nominative | loss | lossid | |
| accusative | nom. | ||
| gen. | lossi | ||
| genitive | losside | ||
| partitive | lossi | losse lossisid | |
| illative | lossi lossisse |
lossidesse lossesse | |
| inessive | lossis | lossides losses | |
| elative | lossist | lossidest lossest | |
| allative | lossile | lossidele lossele | |
| adessive | lossil | lossidel lossel | |
| ablative | lossilt | lossidelt losselt | |
| translative | lossiks | lossideks losseks | |
| terminative | lossini | lossideni | |
| essive | lossina | lossidena | |
| abessive | lossita | lossideta | |
| comitative | lossiga | lossidega | |
Further reading
- “loss”, in Eesti keele põhisõnavara sõnastik [Dictionary of Estonian Basic Vocabulary] (in Estonian) (online version, not updated), Tallinn: Eesti Keele Sihtasutus (Estonian Language Foundation), 2014
- “loss”, in Eesti keele seletav sõnaraamat [Descriptive Dictionary of the Estonian Language] (in Estonian) (online version), Tallinn: Eesti Keele Sihtasutus (Estonian Language Foundation), 2009
- “loss”, in [ÕS] Eesti õigekeelsussõnaraamat ÕS 2018 [Estonian Spelling Dictionary] (in Estonian) (online version), Tallinn: Eesti Keele Sihtasutus (Estonian Language Foundation), 2018, →ISBN
- loss in Sõnaveeb (Eesti Keele Instituut)
Norwegian Bokmål
Verb
loss
- imperative of losse
Swedish
Etymology
Like Danish los and Norwegian loss, from Low German or Dutch los, from Middle Low German or Middle Dutch los, byform of Low German lōs or Dutch loos respectively, cognate with Swedish lös.
Adverb
loss (not comparable)
- to a no longer attached or stuck state (no longer stuck to something, generally); loose, off, untied
- Han drog i den, och till slut kom den loss
- He pulled on it, and finally it came loose
- Han sparkade loss grenen
- He kicked the branch off
- Jag är fast i kvicksand och kommer inte loss
- I'm stuck in quicksand and can't get out (get unstuck)
- De knöt loss båten
- They untied the boat (from the pier)
Derived terms
Related terms
References
- loss in Svensk ordbok (SO)
- loss in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
- loss in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)