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loss |
5 definitions found From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Loss \Loss\, n. [AS. los loss losing, fr le['o]san to lose. ?. See {Lose}, v. t.] 1. The act of losing; failure; destruction; privation; as the loss of property; loss of money by gaming; loss of health or reputation. Assured loss before the match be played. --Shak. 2. The state of losing or having lost; the privation, defect, misfortune, harm, etc., which ensues from losing. Though thou repent, yet I have still the loss --Shak 3. That which is lost or from which one has parted; waste; -- opposed to {gain} or {increase}; as the loss of liquor by leakage was considerable. 4. The state of being lost or destroyed; especially, the wreck or foundering of a ship or other vessel. 5. Failure to gain or win; as loss of a race or battle. 6. Failure to use advantageously; as loss of time. 7. (Mil.) Killed, wounded, and captured persons, or captured property. 8. (Insurance) Destruction or diminution of value, if brought about in a manner provided for in the insurance contract (as destruction by fire or wreck, damage by water or smoke), or the death or injury of an insured person; also the sum paid or payable therefor; as the losses of the company this year amount to a million of dollars. {To bear a loss}, to make a loss good; also to sustain a loss without sinking under it {To be at a loss}, to be in a state of uncertainty. Syn: Privation; detriment; injury; damage. From WordNet r 1.6 [wn]: loss n 1: the act of losing; "everyone expected him to win so his loss was a shock" 2: something that is lost; "the car was a total loss"; "loss of livestock left the rancher bankrupt" 3: the amount by which the cost of a business exceeds its revenue; "the company operated at a loss last year" [ant: {gain}] 4: decline in activity: "a serious loss of business" 5: the disadvantage that results from losing something "his loss of credibility led to his resignation" or "losing him is no great deprivation" [syn: {deprivation}] 6: military personnel lost by death or capture [syn: {personnel casualty}] 7: the experience of losing a loved one "he sympathized on the loss of their grandfather" 8: euphemistic expressions for death; "thousands mourned his passing" [syn: {passing}, {departure}, {exit}, {expiration}, {going}, {release}] From Jargon File (4.2.3, 23 NOV 2000) [jargon]: loss n. Something (not a person) that loses; a situation in which something is losing. Emphatic forms include `moby loss', and `total loss', `complete loss'. Common interjections are "What a loss!" and "What a moby loss!" Note that `moby loss' is OK even though **`moby loser' is not used applied to an abstract noun moby is simply a magnifier, whereas when applied to a person it implies substance and has positive connotations. Compare {lossage}. From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (13 Mar 01) [foldoc]: lossSomething (not a person) that loses; a situation in which something is losing. Emphatic forms include "moby loss", and "total loss", "complete loss". Common interjections are "What a loss!" and "What a moby loss!" Note that "moby loss" is OK even though **"moby loser" is not used applied to an abstract noun moby is simply a magnifier, whereas when applied to a person it implies substance and has positive connotations. Compare {lossage}. (1995-04-19) From THE DEVIL'S DICTIONARY ((C)1911 Released April 15 1993) [devils]: LOSS n. Privation of that which we had or had not Thus in the latter sense it is said of a defeated candidate that he "lost his election"; and of that eminent man, the poet Gilder, that he has "lost his mind." It is in the former and more legitimate sense that the word is used in the famous epitaph: Here Huntington's ashes long have lain Whose loss is our eternal gain, For while he exercised all his powers Whatever he gained, the loss was ours
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