Lose (l?z), v. t. [imp. &
p. p. Lost (lŏst; 115) p. pr. & vb.
n. Losing (l?z"ĭng).] [OE.
losien to loose, be lost, lose, AS. losian to become
loose; akin to OE. leosen to lose, p. p. loren,
lorn, AS. leósan, p. p. loren (in comp.),
D. verliezen, G. verlieren, Dan. forlise, Sw.
förlisa, förlora, Goth. fraliusan,
also to E. loose, a & v., L. luere to loose, Gr.
ly`ein, Skr. lū to cut. √127. Cf.
Analysis, Palsy, Solve, Forlorn,
Leasing, Loose, Loss.]
1. To part with unintentionally or
unwillingly, as by accident, misfortune, negligence, penalty,
forfeit, etc.; to be deprived of; as, to lose money from one's
purse or pocket, or in business or gaming; to lose an arm or a
leg by amputation; to lose men in battle.
Fair Venus wept the sad disaster
Of having lost her favorite dove.
Prior.
2. To cease to have; to possess no longer; to
suffer diminution of; as, to lose one's relish for anything;
to lose one's health.
If the salt hath lost his savor, wherewith
shall it be salted ?
Matt. v. 13.
3. Not to employ; to employ ineffectually; to
throw away; to waste; to squander; as, to lose a day; to
lose the benefits of instruction.
The unhappy have but hours, and these they
lose.
Dryden.
4. To wander from; to miss, so as not to be
able to and; to go astray from; as, to lose one's
way.
He hath lost his fellows.
Shak
5. To ruin; to destroy; as destroy; as, the
ship was lost on the ledge.
The woman that deliberates is
lost.
Addison.
6. To be deprived of the view of; to cease to
see or know the whereabouts of; as, he lost his companion in
the crowd.
Like following life thro' creatures you dissect,
You lose it in the moment you detect.
Pope.
7. To fail to obtain or enjoy; to fail to
gain or win; hence, to fail to catch with the mind or senses; to
miss; as, I lost a part of what he said.
He shall in no wise lose his
reward.
Matt. x. 42.
I fought the battle bravely which I lost,
And lost it but to Macedonians.
Dryden.
8. To cause to part with; to deprive
of. [R.]
How should you go about to lose him a wife he
loves with so much passion ?
Sir W. Temple.
9. To prevent from gaining or
obtaining.
O false heart ! thou hadst almost betrayed me to
eternal flames, and lost me this glory.
Baxter.
To lose ground, to fall behind; to suffer
gradual loss or disadvantage. -- To lose
heart, to lose courage; to become timid. "The
mutineers lost heart." Macaulay. -- To lose
one's head, to be thrown off one's balance; to lose the
use of one's good sense or judgment.
In the excitement of such a discovery, many scholars
lost their heads.
Whitney.
-- To lose one's self. (a)
To forget or mistake the bearing of surrounding objects; as,
to lose one's self in a great city. (b)
To have the perceptive and rational power temporarily suspended;
as, we lose ourselves in sleep. -- To lose sight
of. (a) To cease to see; as, to lose
sight of the land. (b) To overlook; to
forget; to fail to perceive; as, he lost sight of the
issue.