Revised as of
7 Dec 2022
Yes, this is different from “Loose versus Lose” — this one’s gots more Ses for one. Yeah, I know, an eye-rolling moment, LOL.
Seriously, it astounds me how often I find this confusion. Although, I can understand it when newscasters talk about the number of losses a team has had — note the word losses, a noun — that it can become so familiar to your brain that loss seems to be exactly the same as a lose. Unfortunately, it’s not. Nyah, nyah . . .
Seriously, loses is strictly a verb. C’mon, you guys, you’re writers . . . I know y’all know the difference between nouns and verbs . . .
You may also want to explore “Loses versus Losses” or “Loose versus Lose“.
Word Confusions . . .
. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.
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| Lose(s) | Loss(es) |
|---|---|
Upper Ivory Denture with Human Teeth, England, 1801-1860, is courtesy of Wellcome Images under the CC BY 4.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons. — Ouch, it’s hard enough to lose one’s teeth, but in the 19th century? |
With Sympathy by Virginia L. is under the CC BY 2.0 license. — Conveying sympathy for one’s loss. |
| Part of Grammar: | |
| Verb, intransitive & transitive
Third person present verb: loses |
Noun
Plural: losses |
| Verb, intransitive: Fail to win a game or contest Earn less money than one is spending or has spent Verb, transitive:
Become unable to find something or someone
Fail to win a game or contest
Earn less money than one is spending or has spent |
Fact or process of losing something or someone
[Physics] Reduction of power within or among circuits |
| Examples: | |
| Verb, intransitive: They lost by one vote. Pete didn’t want to be on the losing side. He lost heavily on box-office flops. Verb, transitive: Linda was very upset about losing her job. The company may find itself losing customers to cheaper rivals. You lost me my appointment at the university. She lost her husband in the fire. She could lose the baby. A fishing disaster in which 19 local men were lost took place over five years ago. She couldn’t eat and began to lose weight. They lost every chance to score in the first inning. He’ll lose no time in attacking his opponent’s tax proposals. I swear this clock loses 10 minutes every day. In the end I completely lost it — I was screaming at them. Jamie always loses the car keys. The clouds came down, and we lost the path. He came after me waving his revolver, but I easily lost him. Lose that creep! Sorry, Tim, you’ve lost me there. He had been lost in thought. The Bears lost the final game of the series That shot lost him the championship. The paper is losing $500,000 a month. This project of yours is losing money hand over fist. |
I’m sorry for your loss.
There’s a loss of power to the transporter. There have been a number of job losses in our current economy. We’re trying to avoid loss of time. Funding cuts will lead to job losses. Insurance can protect you against financial loss. We have incurred huge losses. “Loss-making PSU banks including SBI may find the going more tough” (Loss-making). I feel a terrible sense of loss. He will be a great loss to many people. |
| Derivatives: | |
| Adjective: lose-lose Noun: loser Verb, transitive: relose, relost, relosing |
Noun: preloss |
| Phrasal Verb | |
| lose out | |
| History of the Word: | |
| Old English, before the 12th century, from losian, meaning perish, destroy, also become unable to find.
Similar to the Old English lēosan, for to lose. |
Middle English, probably from the 13th century.
Old English los meaning destruction, is of Germanic origin and related to the Old Norse los meaning breaking up of the ranks of an army and loose, the latter is probably a back-formation from lost, a past participle of lose. |
C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!
Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.
Resources for Lose versus Loss
Apple Dictionary.com
“Loss-making PSU Banks Including SBI May Find the Going More Tough.” The Economic Times 13 Oct 2016. Web. n.d. <http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/54823505.cms>. Article.
Pinterest Photo Credits:
Beaumont-Hamel Terre Neuvien Tombes was photographed by Alertomalibu under the GFDL, CC-BY-SA-3.0, or CC BY-SA 2.5-2.0-1.0 licenses, via Wikimedia Commons.
