Meaning & use
loss
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Meanings
nouncountable or uncountable
The fact of no longer having something, or having less of it than before.
Grammar: Uncountable for the general idea: loss of sleep; countable for a particular case: a heavy loss.
Patterns
- loss of something
- the loss of someone
The loss of my keys made me late for work.
Hair loss can have many different causes.
The storm caused a total loss of power across the town.
nouncountable or uncountable
The sadness of having someone close die, or the death itself.
Grammar: Often used gently instead of death: we felt the loss deeply.
Patterns
- the loss of someone
- mourn the loss of someone
The whole village felt the loss of the old teacher.
She never fully recovered from the loss of her brother.
We are so sorry for your loss.
nouncountablebusiness
Money that a person or business has spent but not earned back, or a failure to win.
Grammar: Often contrasts with profit: the company made a loss; in sport it contrasts with win.
Patterns
- make a loss
- a loss of an amount
The shop ran at a loss for its first two years.
The team suffered a narrow loss on Saturday.
The firm reported a loss of two million dollars.
Word forms
| plural | losses |
|---|
Common combinations
- heavy loss
- The flood caused heavy losses for local farmers.
- at a loss
- The airline is operating at a loss.
- loss of life
- Rescuers feared there had been a great loss of life.
- weight loss
- Regular walking helped his weight loss.
- suffer a loss
- The company suffered a loss in the third quarter.
- cut your losses
- He cut his losses and sold the shares.
Synonyms and how they differ
- deficit
- Deficit is a formal word for when spending is greater than income, and it is used mainly for budgets rather than personal grief.
- defeat
- Defeat is used only for being beaten in a contest, whereas loss also covers money, objects and people.
- bereavement
- Bereavement is a formal word restricted to the death of a loved one, while loss is gentler and wider in use.
- disappearance
- Disappearance means something has vanished from sight, but loss stresses that you no longer have it.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: loss or lose? loss or loose?
loss vs lose
Lose is the verb, as in I might lose my keys, while loss is the noun for the result.
loss vs loose
Loose means not tight or not fastened, and has a different sound and meaning from loss.
Practice
The café has been operating at a ____ since the road closed.
Choose one answer.
At a loss means spending more than you earn. Profit and gain would mean the opposite, and win does not fit this phrase.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “loss”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.