Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary - loss

(losses) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. Loss is the fact of no longer having something or having less of it than before. ...loss of sight... The loss of income for the government is about $250 million a month. ...hair loss... The job losses will reduce the total workforce to 7,000. N-VAR: usu with supp 2. Loss of life occurs when people die. ...a terrible loss of human life... The allies suffered less than 20 casualties while enemy losses were said to be high. N-VAR: usu with supp 3. The loss of a relative or friend is their death. They took the time to talk about the loss of Thomas and how their grief was affecting them. ...the loss of his mother. N-UNCOUNT: with supp, usu the N of n 4. If a business makes a loss, it earns less than it spends. In 1986 Rover made a loss of nine hundred million pounds... The company said it will stop producing fertilizer in 1990 because of continued losses. ...profit and loss. ? profit N-VAR 5. Loss is the feeling of sadness you experience when someone or something you like is taken away from you. Talk to others about your feelings of loss and grief... N-UNCOUNT 6. A loss is the disadvantage you suffer when a valuable and useful person or thing leaves or is taken away. She said his death was a great loss to herself. N-COUNT: usu sing 7. The loss of something such as heat, blood, or fluid is the gradual reduction of it or of its level in a system or in someone’s body. ...blood loss. ...weight loss. ...a rapid loss of heat from the body. N-UNCOUNT: with supp 8. If a business produces something at a loss, they sell it at a price which is less than it cost them to produce it or buy it. (BUSINESS) New fashion designs have to be sold off at a loss if sales are poor. ? at a profit PHRASE: PHR after v 9. If you say that you are at a loss, you mean that you do not know what to do in a particular situation. The government is at a loss to know how to tackle the violence. PHRASE: usu v-link PHR, usu PHR for n, PHR to-inf 10. If you cut your losses, you stop doing what you were doing in order to prevent the bad situation that you are in becoming worse. Directors are right to cut their losses, admit they chose the wrong man and make a change. PHRASE: V inflects 11. If you say that someone or something is a dead loss, you have a low opinion of them because you think they are completely useless or unsuccessful. (BRIT INFORMAL) I’d had no experience of organizing anything of that sort. I think I was largely a dead loss. PHRASE: usu v-link PHR c darkgreen]disapproval