loss
/lɔs/
Word Rarity
Common
Frequency: Zipf frequency 5.07 in modern English
4
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
1
Syllables
3
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The result of no longer possessing an object, a function, or a characteristic due to external causes or misplacement.
Countable
noun
The condition of grief caused by losing someone or something, especially someone who has died.
Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "loss of limb; weight loss; loss of cognitive functions; loss of appetite."
- "People are less willing to take a risk to make a gain than to avoid a loss."
- "In other areas, glacier loss creates serious risk of a dry period across the Third Pole, Wang said."
- "It was a terrible crash; both cars were total losses."
- "The match ended in their first loss of the season."
- "We mourn his loss."
Etymology
From Middle English los, from Old English los (“damage, destruction, loss”), from Proto-West Germanic *los, from Proto-Germanic *lusą (“dissolution, break-up, loss”), from Proto-Indo-European *lews- (“to cut, sunder, separate, loose, lose”). Cognate with Icelandic los (“dissolution, looseness, break-up”), Old English lor, forlor (“loss, ruin”), Middle High German verlor (“loss, ruin”). More at lose.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /lɔs/
- British English: /lɒs/