What does loss mean?

Definitions for loss
lɔs, lɒsloss

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word loss.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. lossnoun

    something that is lost

    "the car was a total loss"; "loss of livestock left the rancher bankrupt"

  2. lossnoun

    gradual decline in amount or activity

    "weight loss"; "a serious loss of business"

  3. lossnoun

    the act of losing someone or something

    "everyone expected him to win so his loss was a shock"

  4. loss, deprivationnoun

    the disadvantage that results from losing something

    "his loss of credibility led to his resignation"; "losing him is no great deprivation"

  5. lossnoun

    the experience of losing a loved one

    "he sympathized on the loss of their grandfather"

  6. loss, red ink, rednoun

    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"

  7. personnel casualty, lossnoun

    military personnel lost by death or capture

  8. passing, loss, departure, exit, expiration, going, releasenoun

    euphemistic expressions for death

    "thousands mourned his passing"

Wiktionary

  1. lossnoun

    an instance of losing, such as a defeat

    The match ended in their first loss of the season.

  2. lossnoun

    something that is lost

    It was written off as a loss.

  3. lossnoun

    the hurtful condition of having lost something or someone

    We mourn his loss.

  4. lossnoun

    casualties, especially physically eliminated victims of violent conflict

    The battle was won, but losses were great.

  5. lossnoun

    the sum an entity loses on balance

    The sum of expenditures and taxes minus total income is a loss, when this difference is positive.

  6. lossnoun

    destruction, ruin

    It was a terrible crash: both cars were total losses

  7. lossnoun

    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

  8. Etymology: Old English has los "loss, destruction," from a Proto-Germanic root *lausam- (see lose), but the modern word probably evolved in the 14th century from lost, the original past participle of lose, itself from losian "be lost, perish," from los "destruction, loss", from a Proto-Germanic root *lausa (compare O.N. los "the breaking up of an army"), from Proto-Indo-Eeuopean base *leu- "to loosen, divide, cut apart, untie, separate"

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. Lossnoun

    Etymology: from lose.

    The only gain he purchased was to be capable of loss and detriment for the good of others. Richard Hooker, b. v.

    An evil natured son is the dishonour of his father that begat him; and a foolish daughter is born to his loss. Ecclus.

    The abatement of price of any of the landholder’s commodities, lessens his income, and is a clear loss. John Locke.

    If he were dead, what would betide of me?
    —— No other harm but loss of such a lord.
    —— The loss of such a lord includes all harms. William Shakespeare.

    Her fellow ships from far her loss descry’d;
    But only she was sunk, and all were safe beside. Dryden.

    There succeeded an absolute victory for the English, with the slaughter of above two thousand of the enemy, with the loss but of one man, though not a few hurt. Francis Bacon.

    Not the least transaction of sense and motion in man, but philosophers are at a loss to comprehend. Robert South, Serm.

    Reason is always striving, and always at a loss, while it is exercised about that which is not its proper object. Dryden.

    A man may sometimes be at a loss which side to close with. Thomas Baker, Refl. on Learning.

    It would be loss of time to explain any farther our superiority to the enemy in numbers of men and horse. Addison.

Wikipedia

  1. loss

    The League of Secessionist States (LoSS; LOSS) is a dormant, Internet-based intermicronational organisation that exists "to promote intermicronational communication and partnership, and serves to act as a supramicronational, impartial Body where such a need for one may exist." Initially established on 26 November 1980 by Robert B. Madison, self-proclaimed king of the Kingdom of Talossa, it was reestablished in April 1996 during a "micronational boom" on the Internet. It was the principal intermicronational organisation on the Internet between 1997 and at least 2000.

ChatGPT

  1. loss

    Loss refers to the act or instance of losing something or someone. It could be a decrease in amount, value, functionality, or usefulness. Loss could also refer to the experience of grief or sorrow as a result of death, separation, or injury. In business and finance, loss means not making a profit or losing money on an investment or activity. In insurance terms, it refers to the amount an insurance company pays on a claim, or the financial damage caused by an unfortunate event.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Lossverb

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

  2. Lossverb

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

  3. Lossverb

    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. Lossverb

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

  5. Lossverb

    failure to gain or win; as, loss of a race or battle

  6. Lossverb

    failure to use advantageously; as, loss of time

  7. Lossverb

    killed, wounded, and captured persons, or captured property

  8. Lossverb

    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

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Löss

    See Loess.

The New Hacker's Dictionary

  1. loss

    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.

Dictionary of Nautical Terms

  1. loss

    Total loss is the insurance recovered under peril, according to the invoice price of the goods when embarked, together with the premium of insurance. Partial loss upon either ship or goods, is that proportion of the prime cost which is equal to the diminution in value occasioned by the damage. (See INSURANCE.)

Military Dictionary and Gazetteer

  1. loss

    Killed, wounded, and captured persons, or captured property.

Editors Contribution

  1. lossnoun

    The condition of someone who or something which has suffered a loss.

    With her second child now deceased, she is tragically double-loss.


    Submitted by mjmartguy on June 23, 2019  

Suggested Resources

  1. LOSS

    What does LOSS stand for? -- Explore the various meanings for the LOSS acronym on the Abbreviations.com website.

  2. Loss

    Loss vs. Lose -- In this Grammar.com article you will learn the differences between the words Loss and Lose.

Surnames Frequency by Census Records

  1. LOSS

    According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Loss is ranked #21960 in terms of the most common surnames in America.

    The Loss surname appeared 1,182 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 would have the surname Loss.

    93.4% or 1,105 total occurrences were White.
    3.2% or 38 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
    1.5% or 18 total occurrences were of two or more races.
    1% or 12 total occurrences were Black.

British National Corpus

  1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'loss' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #821

  2. Written Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'loss' in Written Corpus Frequency: #2054

  3. Nouns Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'loss' in Nouns Frequency: #258

How to pronounce loss?

How to say loss in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of loss in Chaldean Numerology is: 7

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of loss in Pythagorean Numerology is: 2

Examples of loss in a Sentence

  1. Euripides:

    What greater grief than the loss of one's native land.

  2. Chief Jackson:

    I'm truly sorry for the loss of your son. I'm also sorry that it took so long to remove Michael from the street.

  3. Megan Ranney:

    I can not tell you how many people I've taken care of in the ER -- who are in their 20s, 30s and 40s -- who are never sick enough to end up in the ER with Covid but who now have long-lasting respiratory difficulties, or they have persistent loss of taste and smell, and they're losing weight because there's no joy from eating. Or they have that kind of brain fog that we hear about with long Covid.

  4. Cris Slentz:

    Exercise by itself will not lead to big weight loss. What and how much you eat has a far greater impact on how much weight you lose.

  5. Todd Spitzer:

    We’ve all gotten upset at other motorists, other motorists have been upset at us, i’ve thrown some gestures about myself. But it’s never come to a situation of violence and certainly not in my realm or your realm to the loss of a life.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

loss#1#972#10000

Translations for loss

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

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"loss." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 25 Apr. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/loss>.

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    lack of respect accompanied by a feeling of intense dislike
    A hunch
    B contempt
    C recital
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