- loss
- noun1 losing of sthADJECTIVE▪ appreciable, considerable, significant, substantial▪ dramatic, great, huge, major, serious▪
the dramatic loss of farmland to urban growth
▪Reductions in spending would have led to a much greater loss of jobs.
▪She suffered a significant loss of hearing after the operation.
▪ slight▪ partial, total▪partial loss of eyesight
▪ permanent, temporary▪ gradual, progressive▪a gradual loss of hope
▪ rapid▪rapid weight loss
▪ blood, fat, hair, hearing, heat, memory, water, weight▪Weight loss can be a sign of a serious illness.
▪ job▪The company is expected to announce 200 job losses.
VERB + LOSS▪ suffer▪He suffered a loss of confidence.
▪ cause▪The knife hit an artery, causing significant blood loss.
▪ prevent▪They form a barrier to prevent water loss.
PREPOSITION▪ loss of▪loss of appetite
▪loss of confidence
PHRASES▪ no great loss▪She wouldn't be able to attend the lecture, which was no great loss.
▪ be at a loss▪We are at a loss to understand his actions (= we cannot understand them).
2 amount of money lostADJECTIVE▪ catastrophic, enormous, heavy, huge, massive, serious, significant, substantial▪ slight, small▪ net▪ pre-tax▪ overall, total▪ annual, quarterly▪ economic, financial▪ trading▪ long-term, short-term▪long-term tax revenue losses
VERB + LOSS▪ incur, make, suffer, sustain, take▪There's no way you can make a loss on this deal.
▪The business sustained losses of €20 million.
▪The company took a big loss of 28%.
▪ cut, minimize, reduce▪He decided to cut his losses and sell the shares before they sank further.
▪ recoup, recover▪It took the company five years to recoup its losses.
▪ absorb▪The fund may not be large enough to absorb these losses.
▪ offset▪We can offset the loss against next year's budget.
▪ underwrite▪No bank would be willing to underwrite such a loss.
PREPOSITION▪ at a loss▪The store was operating at a loss.
▪ loss on▪We made a net loss on the transaction.
3 the death of a personADJECTIVE▪ enormous, great, terrible, tremendous▪The family has suffered a terrible loss.
▪The ship sank with great loss of life.
▪His passing is a tremendous loss for all of us.
▪ sad (esp. BrE), tragic▪the tragic loss of her husband
▪His death is a sad loss to all who knew him.
▪ big, catastrophic, devastating, great, heavy, severe▪the devastating losses of the war
▪The enemy suffered heavy losses.
VERB + LOSS▪ suffer, sustain, take▪Our country had sustained a tremendous loss of innocent life.
▪ inflict▪Fighter planes inflicted heavy losses on the enemy.
▪ grieve, lament, mourn, regret▪China mourned the loss of a great leader.
PREPOSITION▪ loss to▪Her suicide was a terrible loss to the music world.
PHRASES▪ a sense of loss▪She was filled with an overwhelming sense of loss.
Collocations dictionary. 2013.