Gain vs. Lose

Gainpreposition

(obsolete) Against.

Loseverb

(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.’;

Gainadjective

(obsolete) Straight, direct; near; short.

‘the gainest way’;

Loseverb

To wander from; to miss, so as not to be able to find; to go astray from.

‘I lost my way in the forest.’;

Gainadjective

(obsolete) Suitable; convenient; ready.

Loseverb

(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.’;

Gainadjective

(dialectal) Easy; tolerable; handy, dexterous.

Loseverb

(transitive) To fail to win (a game, competition, trial, etc).

‘We lost the football match.’;

Gainadjective

(dialectal) Honest; respectable; moderate; cheap.

Loseverb

(transitive) To shed (weight).

‘I’ve lost five pounds this week.’;

Gainadverb

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

Loseverb

(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.’;

Gainadverb

(dialectal) Suitably; conveniently; dexterously; moderately.

Loseverb

(transitive) To cause (somebody) to be unable to follow or trace one any longer.

‘We managed to lose our pursuers in the forest.’;

Gainadverb

(dialectal) Tolerably; fairly.

‘gain quiet (= fairly/pretty quiet)’;

Loseverb

(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.’;

Gainnoun

The act of gaining; acquisition.

Loseverb

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

Gainnoun

What is gained.

Loseverb

To shed, remove, discard, or eliminate.

‘When we get into the building, please lose the hat.’;

Gainnoun

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

Loseverb

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.’;

Gainnoun

(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.

Loseverb

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

Gainverb

(transitive) To acquire possession of.

‘Looks like you've gained a new friend.’;

Loseverb

To fail to catch with the mind or senses; to miss.

‘I lost a part of what he said.’;

Gainverb

(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.’;

Loseverb

To cause to part with; to deprive of.

Gainverb

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’;

Losenoun

(obsolete) Fame, renown; praise.

Gainverb

(transitive) To increase.

Loseverb

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.’;

Gainverb

(intransitive) To be more likely to catch or overtake an individual.

‘I'm gaining (on you).’; ‘gain ground’;

Loseverb

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?’;

Gainverb

(transitive) To reach.

‘to gain the top of a mountain’;

Loseverb

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.’;

Gainverb

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

Loseverb

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.’;

Gainverb

(intransitive) To put on weight.

‘I've been gaining.’;

Loseverb

To ruin; to destroy; as destroy; as, the ship was lost on the ledge.

‘The woman that deliberates is lost.’;

Gainverb

(of a clock or watch) To run fast.

Loseverb

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.’;

Gainnoun

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.

Loseverb

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.’;

Gainnoun

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.’;

Loseverb

To cause to part with; to deprive of.

‘How should you go about to lose him a wife he loves with so much passion?’;

Gainnoun

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

Loseverb

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.’;

Gainadjective

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

Loseverb

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.’;

Gainverb

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.’;

Loseverb

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’;

Gainverb

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.

Loseverb

fail to win;

‘We lost the battle but we won the war’;

Gainverb

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.’;

Loseverb

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’;

Gainverb

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.’;

Loseverb

place (something) where one cannot find it again;

‘I misplaced my eyeglasses’;

Gainverb

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.’;

Loseverb

miss from one's possessions; lose sight of;

‘I've lost my glasses again!’;

Gainverb

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.’;

Loseverb

allow to go out of sight;

‘The detective lost the man he was shadowing after he had to stop at a red light’;

Gainnoun

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’;

Loseverb

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’;

Gainnoun

the advantageous quality of being beneficial

Loseverb

fail to get or obtain;

‘I lost the opportunity to spend a year abroad’;

Gainnoun

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

Loseverb

retreat

Gainnoun

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

Loseverb

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’;

Gainverb

obtain;

‘derive pleasure from one's garden’;

Loseverb

be set at a disadvantage;

‘This author really suffers in translation’;

Gainverb

win something through one's efforts;

‘I acquired a passing knowledge of Chinese’; ‘Gain an understanding of international finance’;

Loseverb

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’;

Gainverb

derive a benefit from;

‘She profited from his vast experience’;

Loseverb

cause (someone) to fail to gain or retain (something)

‘you lost me my appointment at London University’;

Gainverb

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’;

Loseverb

be deprived of (a relative or friend) through their death

‘she lost her husband in the fire’;

Gainverb

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’;

Loseverb

(of a pregnant woman) miscarry (a baby) or suffer the death of (a baby) during childbirth

‘am I going to lose the baby?’;

Gainverb

rise in rate or price;

‘The stock market gained 24 points today’;

Loseverb

be destroyed or killed, especially as a result of an accident or military action

‘a fishing disaster in which 129 men were lost’;

Gainverb

increase in;

‘gain momentum’; ‘gain nerve’;

Loseverb

decrease in (body weight); undergo a reduction of (a specified amount of weight)

‘she couldn't eat and began to lose weight’;

Gainverb

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’;

Loseverb

(of a watch or clock) become slow by (a specified amount of time)

‘this clock will neither gain nor lose a second’;

Gainverb

increase (one's body weight);

‘She gained 20 pounds when she stopped exercising’;

Loseverb

become unable to control one's temper or emotions

‘I completely lost it—I was screaming at them’;

Gainverb

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’;

Loseverb

become unable to find (something or someone)

‘I've lost the car keys’;

Gainverb

benefit

‘managers would gain from greater openness’;

Loseverb

cease or become unable to follow (the right route)

‘the clouds came down and we lost the path’;

Gainverb

win over to one's interest or views

‘to gratify the queen, and gain the court’;

Loseverb

evade or shake off (a pursuer)

‘he came after me waving his revolver, but I easily lost him’;

Gainverb

reach or arrive at (a destination)

‘we gained the ridge’;

Loseverb

get rid of (an undesirable person or thing)

‘lose that creep!’;

Gainverb

come closer to (a person or thing pursued)

‘a huge bear was gaining on him with every stride’;

Loseverb

cause (someone) to be unable to follow an argument or explanation

‘sorry, Tim, you've lost me there’;

Gainverb

increase the amount or rate of (something, typically weight or speed)

‘I have gained weight over the years’;

Loseverb

be or become deeply absorbed in (something)

‘he had been lost in thought’;

Gainverb

increase in value

‘shares gained for the third day in a row’;

Loseverb

fail to win (a game or contest)

‘they lost by one vote’; ‘England lost the first Test match’;

Gainverb

improve or advance in (some respect)

‘canoeing is gaining in popularity’;

Loseverb

cause (someone) to fail to win (a game or contest)

‘that shot lost him the championship’;

Gainverb

(of a clock or watch) become fast by (a specific amount of time)

‘this atomic clock will neither gain nor lose a second in the next 1 million years’;

Loseverb

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’;

Gainnoun

an increase in wealth or resources

‘the pursuit of personal gain’; ‘shares showed gains of up to 21 per cent’;

Loseverb

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’;

Gainnoun

a thing that is achieved or acquired

‘the potential gain from rail privatization would be a more commercial railway’;

Gainnoun

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’;