lose out

verb

lost out; losing out; loses out

intransitive verb

: to fail to win in competition : fail to receive an expected reward or gain

Examples of lose out in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The Voice of Hind Rajab won the Silver Lion Grand Jury award, the runner-up prize, losing out to best film Golden Lion winner Father Mother Sister Brother from Jim Jarmusch. — Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 24 Aug. 2026

In that scenario, Leonard would become a free agent, and the Raptors might lose out on Leonard despite having just traded for him. — Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 20 Aug. 2026

Atlanta will not host the 2028 Democratic National Convention, losing out once again on one of the biggest prizes in presidential politics. — Greg Bluestein, AJC.com, 20 Aug. 2026

Like Texas, Wisconsin has passed bipartisan tax breaks to entice companies to do business there and were losing out on revenue when the profits blew away their projections. — David Weigel, semafor.com, 19 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1858, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for lose out

• roundabout
• runabout
• sauerkraut
• thereabout
• turnabout
• about
• bailout
• blackout
• blowout
• breakout
• burnout
• buyout