loses

verb

present tense third-person singular of lose
1
as in misses
to be unable to find or have at hand I always lose my keys

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in drops
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 falls
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 discards
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 spends
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 loses The genius of work divided loses none of its luster when the Chinese are participating in the work, not to mention the peaceful implications of market goods easily crossing borders. — John Tamny, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2026 The movie stars the late Murphy as Molly, a rich girl who loses her fortune and has to find a job. — Kara Nesvig, Parents, 29 Aug. 2026 Not everyone who loses coverage may be able to afford paying for it out of pocket. — Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 29 Aug. 2026 By middle age, everyone loses around a third of their amplitude of accommodation. — E. Tammy Kim, New Yorker, 15 Aug. 2026 When the inventory drops below 300 million barrels, the SPR loses its ability to pump oil at rapid speeds to address emergencies, Misra said. — Spencer Kimball, CNBC, 15 Aug. 2026 If a contractor loses enough workers to delay a project, the demand for everyone else on that project can fall with them. — Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 7 Aug. 2026 When reactors burn transuranic elements in a fast neutron spectrum, the remaining waste loses its high radioactivity much faster. — Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 7 Aug. 2026 And as Wagner was saying, Jason loses himself and becomes blind. — Mya Copeland, Variety, 7 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for loses
  1. misses
  2. drops
  3. falls
  4. discards
  5. spends
  6. forgets
  7. falters
  8. unloads
Verb
  • Yes, Thom is in the cult, or at the very least, Riders of the Afterlife–curious, a development that doesn’t track at all but does give him another opportunity to express that he’s broken and misses his dad.
    — Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 27 Aug. 2026
  • If Tyson misses sigificant time and the Saints offense takes a leap, Olave could have an even higher ceiling.
    — Jonathan Rubin, Charlotte Observer, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of misses
Verb
  • Florida is no longer a boom state as costs of living rise, 20-somethings leave and growth drops below 1%.
    — Scott Maxwell, The Orlando Sentinel, 25 Aug. 2026
  • As the crude layer drops below 300 million barrels, the SPR physically loses its ability to pump oil at rapid emergency speeds of around 4 million barrels per day.
    — Siddharth Misra, Fortune, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of drops
Verb
  • When Cantu reaches towards Lopez and screams his wife’s name, a shot rings out and Lopez falls slightly off camera.
    — Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Rather than extra long hair, think of a cut that falls somewhere below the collarbone, with enough layering or movement to keep it from feeling heavy.
    — Laura Solla, Vogue, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of falls
Verb
  • If that prediction is wrong, the processor discards the work, although traces can remain behind.
    — Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 28 Aug. 2026
  • The solution lies in circular economies, where Asia alone discards $91 billion in unrecovered metals annually.
    — Rob Kaplan, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of discards
Verb
  • Gray is central to the investment calls Blackstone makes, and spends his weekends reading memos on potential deals in preparation for his weekly investment committee meetings.
    — Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, semafor.com, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Our roads get a D+ by the American Society of Civil Engineers, which found Colorado spends 35% more on car repairs than the national average.
    — Shaun Boyd, CBS News, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of spends
Verb
  • Memory loss associated with ECT treatment can include retrograde amnesia, in which the patient forgets events in the weeks or months – sometimes, though rarely, even the years – prior to treatment.
    — Alyssa Goldberg, USA Today, 20 Aug. 2026
  • Framed by the background of struggling, working class Mexican immigrant parents — roots the candidate never forgets and frequently mentions.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of forgets
Verb
  • Extreme heat is redefining electricity as emergency infrastructure, pushing grids to their limits as demand soars and supply falters.
    — Monica Sanders, Forbes.com, 6 Aug. 2026
  • While the federal government remains indispensable in public health, these state-level collaborations demonstrated that regional governance can emerge quickly when national leadership falters.
    — John Eger, Mercury News, 17 July 2026
Definition of falters
Verb
  • Tennessee coach unloads on NCAA suspension Speaking on Tuesday before the Vols open Fall camp, head coach Josh Heupel did not mince words on the NCAA's punishment of a 2-game suspension for the linebacker.
    — Trey Wallace OutKick, FOXNews.com, 4 Aug. 2026
  • The confrontation between father and daughter, in which Taylor-Joy unloads Lucky’s resentments about growing up in the life, is one of the season’s most barbed moments.
    — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 15 July 2026
Definition of unloads

Browse Nearby Words

losers
loses
loses ground
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Loses.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/loses. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of conscientious

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Why does English have so many silent letters?

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
skateboard-dog-hat
Wordmaxxing Slang Quiz Give your vocabulary a glow up by getting sendy w...
See All