the fact or process of losing something or someone:avoiding loss of timefunding cuts will lead to job losses
an amount of money lost by a business or organization:insurance can protect you against financial losswe have incurred huge losses [in combination]:loss-making industries
the state or feeling of grief when deprived of someone or something of value:I feel a terrible sense of loss
[in singular] a person or thing that is badly missed when lost:he will be a great loss to many people
Physics a reduction of power within or among circuits, measured as a ratio of power input to power output.
Phrases
at a loss
1puzzled or uncertain what to think, say, or do: [with infinitive]:she became popular, and was at a loss to know whyhe was at a loss for words
2making less money than is spent buying, operating, or producing something:a railroad running at a loss
Origin:
Old Englishlos 'destruction', of Germanic origin; related to Old Norse los 'breaking up of the ranks of an army' and loose; later probably a back-formation from lost, past participle of lose
