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Gain vs. Lose — What's the Difference?

Gain vs. Lose — What's the Difference?

Difference Between Gain and Lose

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Gain

Obtain or secure (something wanted or desirable)
Their blend of acoustic pop gained them several chart hits
We gained entry to the car in five seconds

Lose

Be deprived of or cease to have or retain (something)
Linda was very upset about losing her job
I've lost my appetite
The company may find itself losing customers to cheaper rivals

Gain

Reach or arrive at (a destination)
We gained the ridge

Lose

Become unable to find (something or someone)
I've lost the car keys

Gain

Increase the amount or rate of (something, typically weight or speed)
I have gained weight over the years
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Lose

Fail to win (a game or contest)
They lost by one vote
England lost the first Test match

Gain

An increase in wealth or resources
The pursuit of personal gain
Shares showed gains of up to 21 per cent

Lose

Earn less (money) than one is spending or has spent
The paper is losing £1.5 million a month
He lost heavily on box office flops

Gain

The factor by which power or voltage is increased in an amplifier or other electronic device, usually expressed as a logarithm
An amplifier of high gain

Lose

Waste or fail to take advantage of (time or an opportunity)
The government lost no time in holding fresh elections
He has lost his chance of becoming world No. 1

Gain

To come into possession or use of; acquire
Gained a small fortune in real estate.
Gained vital information about the enemy's plans.

Lose

To be unsuccessful in retaining possession of; mislay
He's always losing his car keys.

Gain

To attain in competition or struggle; win
Gained a decisive victory.
Gained control of the company.

Lose

To be deprived of (something one has had)
Lost her art collection in the fire.
Lost her job.

Gain

To obtain through effort or merit; achieve
Gain recognition.
Gain a hearing for the proposal.

Lose

To be left alone or desolate because of the death of
Lost his wife.

Gain

To secure as profit or reward; earn
Gain a living.
Gain extra credits in school.

Lose

To be unable to keep alive
A doctor who has lost very few patients.

Gain

To manage to achieve an increase of
A movement that gained strength.
Gained wisdom with age.

Lose

To be unable to keep control or allegiance of
Lost his temper at the meeting.
Is losing supporters by changing his mind.

Gain

To increase by (a specific amount)
Gained 15 pounds.
The market gained 30 points.

Lose

To fail to win; fail in
Lost the game.
Lost the court case.

Gain

To come to; reach
Gained the top of the mountain.

Lose

To fail to use or take advantage of
Don't lose a chance to improve your position.

Gain

To become fast by (a specified amount of time). Used of a timepiece
My watch gains four minutes a day.

Lose

To fail to hear, see, or understand
We lost the plane in the fog. I lost her when she started speaking about thermodynamics.

Gain

To increase; grow
Gained in experience and maturity.
A painting that gained in value.

Lose

To let (oneself) become unable to find the way.

Gain

To become better; improve
Gaining in health.

Lose

To remove (oneself), as from everyday reality into a fantasy world.

Gain

To obtain a profit or advantage; benefit
Stood to gain politically by his opponent's blunder.

Lose

To rid oneself of
Lost five pounds.

Gain

To move closer to a person or thing that is moving ahead; close a gap
The runners in the back gained steadily on the leader.

Lose

To consume aimlessly; waste
Lost a week in idle occupations.

Gain

To put on weight
I began to gain when I went off my diet.

Lose

To wander from or become ignorant of
Lose one's way.

Gain

To operate or run fast. Used of a timepiece.

Lose

To elude or outdistance
Lost their pursuers.

Gain

To cut out a gain in.

Lose

To be outdistanced by
Chased the thieves but lost them.

Gain

To join by or fit into a gain.

Lose

To become slow by (a specified amount of time). Used of a timepiece.

Gain

Something gained or acquired
Territorial gains.

Lose

To cause or result in the loss of
Failure to reply to the advertisement lost her the job.

Gain

Progress; advancement
The country made economic gains under the new government.

Lose

To cause to be destroyed. Usually used in the passive
Both planes were lost in the crash.

Gain

The act of acquiring; attainment.

Lose

To cause to be damned.

Gain

An increase in amount or degree
A gain in operating income.

Lose

To suffer loss
Investors who lost heavily on the firm's stock.

Gain

(Electronics) An increase in signal power, voltage, or current by an amplifier, expressed as the ratio of output to input. Also called amplification.

Lose

To be defeated
Our team lost in overtime.

Gain

The reflectivity of a projection screen, usually expressed relative to the reflectivity of a standard surface of magnesium carbonate.

Lose

To operate or run slow. Used of a timepiece.

Gain

A notch or mortise cut into a board to receive another part.

Lose

(transitive) To cause (something) to cease to be in one's possession or capability due to unfortunate or unknown circumstances, events or reasons.
If you lose that ten-pound note, you'll be sorry.
He lost his hearing in the explosion.
She lost her position when the company was taken over.

Gain

(transitive) To acquire possession of.
Looks like you've gained a new friend.

Lose

(transitive) To have (an organ) removed from one's body, especially by accident.
Johnny lost a tooth, but kept it for the tooth fairy.
He lost his spleen in a car wreck.

Gain

(intransitive) To have or receive advantage or profit; to acquire gain; to grow rich; to advance in interest, health, or happiness; to make progress.
The sick man gains daily.

Lose

(transitive) To shed (weight).
I’ve lost five pounds this week.

Gain

To come off winner or victor in; to be successful in; to obtain by competition.
To gain a battle; to gain a case at law

Lose

(transitive) To experience the death of (someone to whom one has an attachment, such as a relative or friend).
She lost all her sons in the war.

Gain

(transitive) To increase.

Lose

(transitive) To give or owe (money) after losing a bet.

Gain

(intransitive) To be more likely to catch or overtake an individual.
I'm gaining (on you).
Gain ground

Lose

To be deprived of access to something.
Users who engage in disruptive behavior may lose their accounts.

Gain

(transitive) To reach.
To gain the top of a mountain

Lose

To wander from; to miss, so as not to be able to find; to go astray from.
I lost my way in the forest.

Gain

To draw into any interest or party; to win to one's side; to conciliate.

Lose

(transitive) To fail to win (a game, competition, trial, etc).
We lost the football match.
You just lost The Game.

Gain

(intransitive) To put on weight.
I've been gaining.

Lose

(transitive) To be unable to follow or trace (somebody or something) any longer.
The policeman lost the robber he was chasing.
Mission control lost the satellite as its signal died down.

Gain

(of a clock or watch) To run fast.

Lose

(transitive) To cause (somebody) to be unable to follow or trace one any longer.
We managed to lose our pursuers in the forest.

Gain

The act of gaining; acquisition.

Lose

(transitive) To cease exhibiting; to overcome (a behavior or emotion).

Gain

The thing or things gained.

Lose

To shed, remove, discard, or eliminate.
When we get into the building, please lose the hat.

Gain

(electronics) The factor by which a signal is multiplied.

Lose

Of a clock, to run slower than expected.
My watch loses five minutes a week.
It's already 5:30? My watch must have lost a few minutes.

Gain

(architecture) A square or bevelled notch cut out of a girder, binding joist, or other timber which supports a floor beam, so as to receive the end of the floor beam.

Lose

(ditransitive) To cause (someone) the loss of something; to deprive of.

Gain

(obsolete) Against.

Lose

To fail to catch with the mind or senses; to miss.
I lost a part of what he said.

Gain

(obsolete) Straight, direct; near; short.
The gainest way

Lose

(obsolete) Fame, renown; praise.

Gain

(obsolete) Suitable; convenient; ready.

Lose

To part with unintentionally or unwillingly, as by accident, misfortune, negligence, penalty, forfeit, etc.; to be deprived of; as, to lose money from one's purse or pocket, or in business or gaming; to lose an arm or a leg by amputation; to lose men in battle.
Fair Venus wept the sad disasterOf having lost her favorite dove.

Gain

(dialectal) Easy; tolerable; handy, dexterous.

Lose

To cease to have; to possess no longer; to suffer diminution of; as, to lose one's relish for anything; to lose one's health.
If the salt hath lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted?

Gain

(dialectal) Honest; respectable; moderate; cheap.

Lose

Not to employ; to employ ineffectually; to throw away; to waste; to squander; as, to lose a day; to lose the benefits of instruction.
The unhappy have but hours, and these they lose.

Gain

(obsolete) Straightly; quickly; by the nearest way or means.

Lose

To wander from; to miss, so as not to be able to and; to go astray from; as, to lose one's way.
He hath lost his fellows.

Gain

(dialectal) Suitably; conveniently; dexterously; moderately.

Lose

To ruin; to destroy; as destroy; as, the ship was lost on the ledge.
The woman that deliberates is lost.

Gain

(dialectal) Tolerably; fairly.
Gain quiet (= fairly/pretty quiet)

Lose

To be deprived of the view of; to cease to see or know the whereabouts of; as, he lost his companion in the crowd.
Like following life thro' creatures you dissect,You lose it in the moment you detect.

Gain

A square or beveled notch cut out of a girder, binding joist, or other timber which supports a floor beam, so as to receive the end of the floor beam.

Lose

To fail to obtain or enjoy; to fail to gain or win; hence, to fail to catch with the mind or senses; to miss; as, I lost a part of what he said.
He shall in no wise lose his reward.
I fought the battle bravely which I lost,And lost it but to Macedonians.

Gain

That which is gained, obtained, or acquired, as increase, profit, advantage, or benefit; - opposed to loss.
But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.
Godliness with contentment is great gain.
Every one shall share in the gains.

Lose

To cause to part with; to deprive of.
How should you go about to lose him a wife he loves with so much passion?

Gain

The obtaining or amassing of profit or valuable possessions; acquisition; accumulation.

Lose

To prevent from gaining or obtaining.
O false heart! thou hadst almost betrayed me to eternal flames, and lost me this glory.
In the excitement of such a discovery, many scholars lost their heads.

Gain

Convenient; suitable; direct; near; handy; dexterous; easy; profitable; cheap; respectable.

Lose

To suffer loss, disadvantage, or defeat; to be worse off, esp. as the result of any kind of contest.
We 'll . . . hear poor roguesTalk of court news; and we'll talk with them too,Who loses and who wins; who's in, who's out.

Gain

To get, as profit or advantage; to obtain or acquire by effort or labor; as, to gain a good living.
What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
To gain dominion, or to keep it gained.
For fame with toil we gain, but lose with ease.

Lose

Fail to keep or to maintain; cease to have, either physically or in an abstract sense;
She lost her purse when she left it unattended on her seat

Gain

To come off winner or victor in; to be successful in; to obtain by competition; as, to gain a battle; to gain a case at law; to gain a prize.

Lose

Fail to win;
We lost the battle but we won the war

Gain

To draw into any interest or party; to win to one's side; to conciliate.
If he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.
To gratify the queen, and gained the court.

Lose

Suffer the loss of a person through death or removal;
She lost her husband in the war
The couple that wanted to adopt the child lost her when the biological parents claimed her

Gain

To reach; to attain to; to arrive at; as, to gain the top of a mountain; to gain a good harbor.
Forded Usk and gained the wood.

Lose

Place (something) where one cannot find it again;
I misplaced my eyeglasses

Gain

To get, incur, or receive, as loss, harm, or damage.
Ye should . . . not have loosed from Crete, and to have gained this harm and loss.

Lose

Miss from one's possessions; lose sight of;
I've lost my glasses again!

Gain

To have or receive advantage or profit; to acquire gain; to grow rich; to advance in interest, health, or happiness; to make progress; as, the sick man gains daily.
Thou hast greedily gained of thy neighbors by extortion.
The English have not only gained upon the Venetians in the Levant, but have their cloth in Venice itself.
My good behavior had so far gained on the emperor, that I began to conceive hopes of liberty.

Lose

Allow to go out of sight;
The detective lost the man he was shadowing after he had to stop at a red light

Gain

A quantity that is added;
There was an addition to property taxes this year
They recorded the cattle's gain in weight over a period of weeks

Lose

Fail to make money in a business; make a loss or fail to profit;
I lost thousands of dollars on that bad investment!
The company turned a loss after the first year
The company has not profited from the merger

Gain

The advantageous quality of being beneficial

Lose

Fail to get or obtain;
I lost the opportunity to spend a year abroad

Gain

The amount of increase in signal power or voltage or current expressed as the ratio of output to input

Lose

Retreat

Gain

The amount by which the revenue of a business exceeds its cost of operating

Lose

Fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind;
I missed that remark
She missed his point
We lost part of what he said

Gain

Obtain;
Derive pleasure from one's garden

Lose

Be set at a disadvantage;
This author really suffers in translation

Gain

Win something through one's efforts;
I acquired a passing knowledge of Chinese
Gain an understanding of international finance

Gain

Derive a benefit from;
She profited from his vast experience

Gain

Reach a destination, either real or abstract;
We hit Detroit by noon
The water reached the doorstep
We barely made it to the finish line
I have to hit the MAC machine before the weekend starts

Gain

Obtain advantages, such as points, etc.;
The home team was gaining ground
After defeating the Knicks, the Blazers pulled ahead of the Lakers in the battle for the number-one playoff berth in the Western Conference

Gain

Rise in rate or price;
The stock market gained 24 points today

Gain

Increase in;
Gain momentum
Gain nerve

Gain

Earn on some commercial or business transaction; earn as salary or wages;
How much do you make a month in your new job?
She earns a lot in her new job
This merger brought in lots of money
He clears $5,000 each month

Gain

Increase (one's body weight);
She gained 20 pounds when she stopped exercising

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