Loss vs. Lost: The Difference Explained

You’re writing an article and your trying to figure out if you should use loss vs lost in the right context.

‘Loss’ is a noun that means an event in which something has been lost, while ‘Lost’ is a verb meaning to be without something or to have become separated from one’s friends.

I’m going to clear up the misuse of these two words in this article.

Loss Meaning

Loss is a noun that means an event in which something has been lost. It’s the opposite of finding, gaining or acquiring something. There are many types of losses including financial and emotional loss.

One example would be when you lose your wallet with all your cards inside it (financial). Other examples include losing someone due to death (emotional) or losing a competition.

In a business sense, there are also many types of losses that can occur. These include the loss of time, money or other resources which could have been used for something else.

Loss in a Sentence

“Grandma’s death from the virus was a huge loss to the entire family.”

“Jim had to sell all his cars at a loss so he could pay out his gambling debt.”

“I’m sorry for your loss, I didn’t really like him, but I’m still sorry for you anyway though.”

Lost Meaning

The word Lost is a verb meaning to be without something or have become separated from one’s friends.

But it also has another meaning: to find oneself in desperate need of help or guidance. Also like being in an unfamiliar place and not knowing where you are, having been abandoned by someone who was supposed to help you.

Also as in just generally being lost in life, or you are not able to be found and have no sense of direction.

Lost in a Sentence

“I lost my wallet on my way to work today, now I have to walk home, it’s only 30 miles”

“Jonathan lost all his hair by the time he hit 30.”

“They lost the elections and they sure made a lot of noise about it.”

“We lost the game but we partied anyway.”

Loss vs Lost

Loss and lost have two different meanings. Whether you use loss or lost depends on the context.

The word loss is a noun while the word lost is a verb but sometimes can also be used as an adjective to describe feeling ‘lost‘ in a place or situation.

Lost of Life or Loss of Life

The correct term is ‘loss of life‘.

Loss and Lost Together

Loss and lost can certainly be used together in the same sentence.

Here are some examples of proper usage of loss and lost in the same sentence:

“Jimmy was at a loss for words as to how he lost all that Google Ad Revenue.”

“After we lost the number one spot on the Google rankings, we suffered a tremendous financial loss that took us hours to recover from.”

Lossed or Lost

There is no such word as ‘lossed’. ‘Lossed’ is a completely incorrect spelling of the word ‘lost‘.

Conclusion

In the battle of loss vs lost, always remember that loss and lost are two different words that have a variety of meanings depending on their usage.

Use this article to clear up any confusion you might be having with these difficult homophones!

And remember: if you are lost, all it takes is a quick Google search to find the right usage and spelling of the word.