losing
-ing form of “lose” — fail to keep or to maintain; cease to have, either physically or in an abstract sense
An inflected form of lose · -ing form.
How often you will meet it
Rank 2,715 of 71,295 words measured. It occurs 6,127 times across 175,160 chapters — 0.003% of every word in the library.
What it means
verb
- fail to keep or to maintain; cease to have, either physically or in an abstract sense She lost her purse when she left it unattended on her seat
- fail to win We lost the battle but we won the war
- suffer the loss of a person through death or removal She lost her husband in the warThe couple that wanted to adopt the child lost her when the biological parents claimed her
- miss from one's possessions; lose sight of I've lost my glasses again!
- allow to go out of sight or mind The detective lost the man he was shadowing after he had to stop at a red lightlose the crowds by climbing a mountain
- fail to make money in a business; make a loss or fail to profit also: turn a loss I lost thousands of dollars on that bad investment!The company turned a loss after the first year
losing in real books
Each sentence below was written by a published author and is taken from a different book in our library. Open one to read the passage it came from, with narration.
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To wait would be to run the risk of losing you.
Other People's Money · Emile Gaboriau · Chapter 1
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Losing her they would lose love and power, and love and power are sweet.
Little Citizens: The Humours of School Life · Myra Kelly · Chapter 2
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To lose that watch would be like losing his share in the promises of the Church.
The Money Master, Complete · Gilbert Parker · Chapter 1
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And he breathed as one that is losing breath, and the words came from him, 'My soul is thine!'
The Shaving of Shagpat · George Meredith · Chapter 2
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And it took the sting out of losing the little bubble, especially now that we're going to have another).
The Motormaniacs · Lloyd Osbourne · Chapter 2