Meaning & use
lose my patience
Last updated
Meaning
phraseidiom
to become unable to stay calm and stop being patient
Grammar: Used as a verb phrase; the possessive word changes to match the person: I lost my patience, she lost her patience.
Patterns
- lose my/your/his/her patience
- lose patience with someone
After waiting for an hour, I finally lost my patience and left.
She never loses her patience with the children, even when they are noisy.
Don't lose your patience — the train will come soon.
Word forms
| third person singular | loses my patience |
|---|---|
| past tense | lost my patience |
| past participle | lost my patience |
| -ing form | losing my patience |
Common combinations
- finally lose my patience
- He finally lost his patience and shouted at the driver.
- lose my patience with someone
- I'm starting to lose my patience with you.
- never lose my patience
- My grandmother never lost her patience, no matter what happened.
- quickly lose my patience
- I quickly lose my patience when people are late.
Synonyms and how they differ
- run out of patience
- This means the same but often suggests a gradual process; 'lose my patience' can be more sudden.
- get impatient
- This focuses on the feeling rather than the action; 'lose my patience' suggests you show it.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: lose my patience or patients?
lose my patience vs patients
This sounds the same as 'patience' but means people receiving medical care. 'Lose my patients' would mean you cannot find them.
Practice
Choose the correct sentence:
Choose one answer.
The phrase is 'lose your patience with someone'. 'Patient' is an adjective or a medical noun, 'patience of' is wrong, and 'at' does not fit this fixed expression.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “lose my patience”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.