1
as in missing
to be unable to find or have at hand
I always lose my keys
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in dropping
to fail to win, gain, or obtain
if the team loses this game, they're out of the play-offs
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in falling
to undergo defeat
she really hates to lose at anything, and inevitably throws tantrums when it happens
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in dumping
to get rid of as useless or unwanted
we told the recent grad to lose the flashy shirts and dress conservatively for the job interview
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
5
as in spending
to use up carelessly
we lost a good hour while he tried to find his keys
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of losing
The Knights haven’t been playing their best softball, losing four of their last five regular-season games, but things sure have changed in the postseason.
—
Matt Murschel, The Orlando Sentinel, 16 May 2026
The prevailing narrative around the NFL's media rights is that the league will pressure its television partners to pay significantly higher fees before the 2029-30 opt-out period begins (2030-31 for ESPN), or risk losing their packages to streaming platforms.
—Bobby Burack Outkick, FOXNews.com, 16 May 2026
There have been so many films about grief and people losing somebody.
—Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 16 May 2026
The sequence proved costly in what became a 4-3, 10-inning, series-losing defeat for the Yankees in Milwaukee.
—Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 10 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for losing
Matt Murschel, The Orlando Sentinel, 16 May 2026
The prevailing narrative around the NFL's media rights is that the league will pressure its television partners to pay significantly higher fees before the 2029-30 opt-out period begins (2030-31 for ESPN), or risk losing their packages to streaming platforms.
—Bobby Burack Outkick, FOXNews.com, 16 May 2026
There have been so many films about grief and people losing somebody.
—Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 16 May 2026
The sequence proved costly in what became a 4-3, 10-inning, series-losing defeat for the Yankees in Milwaukee.
—Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 10 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for losing
Recent Examples of Synonyms for losing
Verb
-
Is an important event missing from this date?—
Kori Rumore,
Chicago Tribune,
17 May 2026
-
You could be forgiven for missing the name.—
Michael Cox,
New York Times,
17 May 2026
Verb
-
Philadelphia will hit 90° as soon as Monday and rise to 93° on Tuesday before dropping to a more manageable 88° on Wednesday.—
Theresa Braine,
New York Daily News,
15 May 2026
-
And the data show that this is also benefiting solar power, with the impact of aerosols dropping over the last few years.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
15 May 2026
Verb
-
The magnificent luminosity of the orbs announced their arrival, their glow falling unfamiliar against windowpanes, which drew the people to the street.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
20 May 2026
-
The mismatch between workers and available jobs—a key barometer of labor market stress—has actually improved since that moment, falling below its pre-pandemic level.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
19 May 2026
Verb
-
Foreign governments are dumping US Treasury bonds to stabilize their currencies amid the energy shock and financial volatility triggered by the Iran war.—
Tasneem Nashrulla,
semafor.com,
19 May 2026
-
Ferm Living stackable metal baskets keep you from dumping clothes in a pile.—
Yelena Moroz Alpert,
Architectural Digest,
15 May 2026
Verb
-
The Republican primary has been one of the most expensive in recent history, with both sides spending freely on attack ads.—
Rachel Monroe,
New Yorker,
20 May 2026
-
Cherry Creek’s policy prohibits employees from spending district money on alcohol.—
Jessica Seaman,
Denver Post,
20 May 2026
Verb
-
The idea is to appear sympathetic to well-meaning people whose attention lapsed momentarily, forgetting that their picnic spot was also a concert venue.—
Judith Martin,
Mercury News,
19 May 2026
-
For a while, Djena kept a bin with her clothes in Saran’s closet, until Saran threw it into the hallway, angry at Djena for forgetting to close her bedroom door.—
Yudhijit Bhattacharjee,
New Yorker,
18 May 2026
Verb
-
Tangent The Global Preparedness Monitoring Board specifically calls out declining pandemic preparedness funding as a result of faltering political attention.—
Mary Whitfill Roeloffs,
Forbes.com,
18 May 2026
-
With most tropical reefs expected to face conditions like the Gulf’s by 2100—and already faltering under increasingly frequent marine heat waves—that makes the Gulf’s coral a source of valuable genetic information about resilience that could have implications for the rest of the world’s reefs.—
Meghan Bartels,
Scientific American,
14 May 2026
Verb
-
Hull and Ames also face charges of tampering with physical evidence for discarding an expandable baton allegedly used to assault the Moberly teen, records indicate.—
Laura Bauer,
Kansas City Star,
14 May 2026
-
Rather than discarding the residual sludge left behind after conventional anaerobic digestion, the system subjects it to an additional treatment stage known as Advanced Wet Oxidation and Steam Explosion (AWOEx).—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
9 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Losing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/losing. Accessed 21 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
