Meaning & use
lose heart
Last updated
Meanings
phraseidiom
to stop believing you can succeed and so stop trying.
Grammar: Used without an object and without an article: after three failures she lost heart.
Patterns
- lose heart after something
- lose heart when something happens
- begin to lose heart
- never lose heart
The team lost heart after conceding two quick goals.
Don't lose heart if the first attempt fails — most people need several tries.
He was learning the violin slowly, but he never lost heart.
phraseidiom
to become sad and less hopeful about a situation over time.
Grammar: Describes a gradual change of mood rather than one sudden event; often used with slowly or gradually.
Patterns
- slowly lose heart
- gradually lose heart
She applied for dozens of jobs and gradually lost heart.
The volunteers began to lose heart as the repairs dragged on.
Common combinations
- begin to lose heart
- After months without a reply, he began to lose heart.
- never lose heart
- Whatever happens, never lose heart.
- lose heart over something
- Try not to lose heart over a single bad result.
- quickly lose heart
- Young players quickly lose heart if they are shouted at.
- be losing heart
- I could see the students were losing heart.
Synonyms and how they differ
- give up
- More direct and informal; it means actually stopping the effort, while lose heart focuses on the fading of hope and confidence.
- be discouraged
- Describes the feeling of being put off by difficulty; it can be temporary, whereas lose heart suggests you stop trying.
- despair
- Much stronger and more literary; it means giving up all hope, not just becoming less confident.
Opposites
Word family
- heart noun
- The organ, or the center of feelings such as courage and hope.
- heartless adjective
- Showing no kindness or sympathy toward others.
- hearten verb
- To make someone feel more cheerful and confident, as in the news heartened us.
- dishearten verb
- To make someone lose hope and enthusiasm.
Commonly confused: lose heart or lose your heart? lose heart or loose heart?
lose heart vs lose your heart
This means to fall in love with someone, not to give up hope. Losing your heart to a person is romantic; losing heart is about confidence.
lose heart vs loose heart
A spelling trap: loose means not tight. The phrase you want is always lose heart with one o.
Practice
Which sentence uses the phrase correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Lost heart' is the fixed phrase meaning he stopped believing he could succeed. Option 0 means he fell in love, option 2 changes the phrase to a plural noun, and option 3 uses a passive form that the idiom never takes.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “lose heart”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.