What does "loss" mean?
The result of no longer possessing an object, a function, or a characteristic due to external causes or misplacement.
Loss
/lɒs/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The result of no longer possessing an object, a function, or a characteristic due to external causes or misplacement.
- Grammar: loss is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: deprivation, ablation, absence, annihilation.
- Useful contrasts: agricultural produce, agricultural resource, annual yield.
- Usage evidence: Blindness is responsible for a staggering toll of poor health, suffering, and loss of dignity and diminution in the quality of lives of people worldwide.
How to use "loss"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "loss" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "loss" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "loss" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "loss" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "loss" is acting as noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "deprivation" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "loss", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The result of no longer possessing an object, a function, or a characteristic due to external causes or misplacement. countable
"loss of limb; weight loss; loss of cognitive functions; loss of appetite."
- 2 the act of losing someone or something wordnet
- 3 The destruction or ruin of an object. uncountable
- 4 the disadvantage that results from losing something wordnet
- 5 Something that has been destroyed or ruined. countable
"It was a terrible crash; both cars were total losses."
Show 11 more definitions
- 6 the experience of losing a loved one wordnet
- 7 Defeat; an instance of being defeated. countable
"The match ended in their first loss of the season."
- 8 euphemistic expressions for death wordnet
- 9 The death of a person or animal. countable
"We mourn his loss."
- 10 military personnel lost by death or capture wordnet
- 11 The condition of grief caused by losing someone or something, especially someone who has died. uncountable
"Her daughter's sense of loss eventually led to depression."
- 12 the amount by which the cost of a business exceeds its revenue wordnet
- 13 The sum an entity loses on balance. countable
"The sum of expenditures and taxes minus total income is a loss, when this difference is positive."
- 14 something that is lost wordnet
- 15 Electricity of kinetic power expended without doing useful work. countable, uncountable
"The inefficiency of many old-fashioned power plants exceeds 60% loss before the subsequent losses during transport over the grid."
- 16 gradual decline in amount or activity wordnet
Verb
- 1 Alternative spelling of lost. alt-of, alternative, colloquial
Antonyms
agricultural produceagricultural resourceannual yieldarchival processing
Example
"Blindness is responsible for a staggering toll of poor health, suffering, and loss of dignity and diminution in the quality of lives of people worldwide."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "loss"?
Common synonyms include: deprivation, ablation, absence, annihilation, attenuation, attrition.
How do you use "loss" in a sentence?
Blindness is responsible for a staggering toll of poor health, suffering, and loss of dignity and diminution in the quality of lives of people worldwide.
How do you pronounce "loss"?
Pronounced /lɒs/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English los, from Old English los (“damage, destruction, loss”), from Proto-West Germanic *los, 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.
Etymology 2
Pronunciation spelling of lost, representing African-American Vernacular English.