From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishlossloss /lɒs $ lɒːs/ ●●● S2 W1 noun 1 [countable, uncountable]LOSE/NOT HAVE ANYMORE the fact of no longer having something, or of having less of it than you used to have, or the process by which this happensloss of The court awarded Ms Dixon £7,000 for damages and loss of earnings. a disease which causes fever and a loss of appetite This did not explain his apparent loss of interest in his wife. her loss of confidence in herself a certain feeling of loss of control a temporary loss of memory The animal was weak through loss of blood. The company is closing down two of its factories, leading to 430 job losses. Weight loss should be gradual. a type of hearing loss that affects language development2 [countable, uncountable]BBMONEY if a business makes a loss, it spends more than it earns The company made a loss of $250,000 last year. The magazine’s losses totaled almost $5 million. profit and lossrun/operate etc at a loss (=to earn less money from something you sell than it costs you to produce it) Two of the mines are running at a loss. a loss-making rural railway3 [countable, uncountable]DIE the death of someoneloss of She must be feeling very lonely after the loss of her husband. I’m sorry to hear of your family’s sad loss (=the death of someone you love). US forces withdrew after suffering heavy losses (=many deaths). The war has led to a tragic loss of life.4 → be at a loss5 [uncountable]FEEL HAPPY/FRIGHTENED/BORED ETC a feeling of being sad or lonely because someone or something is not there anymore the deep sense of loss I felt after my divorce6 [singular]DISADVANTAGE a disadvantage caused by someone or something leaving or being removedloss to We see your going as a great loss to the company.7 → that’s/it’s somebody’s loss → cut your losses at cut1(29), → a dead loss at dead1(10)
Examples from the Corpus
loss• It announced a loss of £2.8m, on a turnover of £13.5m, thanks mainly to write-downs in the depressed property market.• Trying the case, even to a loss, would help the Republicans, and Starr is a Republican.• The company cannot accept liability for loss or damage to a passenger's property.• three wins and four losses• The girl compensates for her loss by maintaining connectedness with others.• About 35,000 job losses are expected.• Earlier AltaVista, the search engine portal, reported losses of $ 307m on revenues of $ 98m in the second quarter.• How does sleep loss affect the soldier?• I was sorry to hear about the loss of your mother.• You should report the loss of your passport to the consulate.• For instance, while brain cells do die and are not replaced, their loss is not an explanation for senility.• Weight loss should be gradual.loss of• The company reported losses of $82 million for the third quarter.• the loss of innocencemade a loss• Celltech made a loss of £1.9 million last year, much of which went on setting up new research projects.• I made a loss but Bertra Muscle became a rupee millionaire.• According to its figures, the industry made a loss of Aus$13.2 million on hardwood operations in 1990/91.• But a quarter of all businesses surveyed still made a loss.• Table 1 gives some more detail, in this we exclude all subjects who made losses in excess of £10.sad loss• On the way back to the rendezvous the next morning, however, they suffered a sad loss.• For Doctor Who this was a sad loss.• Waterpolo suffered another sad loss last week with the sudden death of Donegall's Eddie Neill.sense of loss• But after a sighting there is also a sense of loss, anti you must stand bereft, searching the empty sky.• Loveless is at her most touching, expressing a sense of loss while maintaining an optimism about the future.• I can't help feeling a sense of loss and betrayal.• More than the economic backwardness and resentment at being made into the national symbol of anti-communist resistance is a sense of loss.• She looked at the man sitting opposite her, and was suffused with a sense of loss.• He looks back on his youth with an overwhelming sense of loss.• No one stands out, although some emerge from the group in brief solos to express their personal sense of loss.• What makes them interesting is that they keep going in spite of their terror and their sense of loss.• Religious beliefs help some people to make ultimate sense of loss and death.loss to• a 52-14 loss to Georgia TechFrom Longman Business Dictionarylossloss /lɒslɒːs/ noun1[countable, uncountable] the fact of no longer having something that you used to have, or having less of itloss of earnings through illness2[countable]FINANCE when a business spends more money than it receives in a particular period of time, or loses money in some other wayThe toy company blamed the losses on poor retail sales.The companymade a loss of £670,000 last year.British banks hit by heavy losses on bad loansThere’s no reason for us to operate at a loss.3ACCOUNTING book/incur/post/take a loss to lose money and make a record of this in the accountsThe unit posted losses for the past two years, hurt by the economic slump.4[countable]INSURANCE an event that causes a person or organization to make a claim on an insurance contract5[countable, uncountable]LAW when a person or organization suffers or loses money because of the mistakes or NEGLIGENCE of anotherOrigin loss Old English los “destruction” 