# lost

Pronunciation: US say "LAWST" /lɔst/; UK say "LOST" /lɒst/

## Verb

1. Simple past and past participle of lose, used as a verb in any of its meanings ('she lost her keys'; 'the game was lost') rather than to describe a noun. — simple past and past participle of lose
   - Simple: Simple past and past participle of lose, as in 'she lost' and 'has lost'.
   - _He lost his wallet on the train yesterday._
   - _The team has lost three matches in a row._

## Adjective

2. Located somewhere unknown and unable to be found.
   - Simple: Somewhere unknown and not able to be found.
   - _The painting was thought to be lost for decades before it reappeared._
   - _A lost manuscript turned up in the library archives last year._
3. Unable to find the way, or having wandered from a known route.
   - Simple: Not knowing where you are or which way to go.
   - _The hikers realized they were lost when the trail vanished into the trees._
   - _She felt hopelessly lost in the unfamiliar city, unable to find her hotel._
4. No longer held or possessed; given up or parted with.
   - Simple: No longer owned or kept by someone.
   - _He spent years grieving his lost youth and the freedom it once gave him._
   - _Decades after the war, older people in the town still spoke bitterly of the lost farmland across the border._
5. Bewildered and uncertain how to act, or unable to grasp, keep up with or manage something.
   - Simple: Mixed up and not knowing what to do, or not able to follow, understand or handle something.
   - _The instructions jumped from step two to step six, and most of us were lost._
   - _Without the routine of her old job, she felt lost for the first few months of retirement._
6. Destroyed, dead or ruined in character, beyond hope of rescue, recovery or redemption ('a lost soul'; 'lost to all shame').
   - Simple: Dead, ruined, or so bad that there is no longer any hope of saving them.
   - _When the ship struck the rocks in the storm, the captain knew at once that she was lost and ordered everyone into the boats._
   - _She regarded him as a lost soul, far past any hope of redemption._
7. So deeply occupied with or absorbed by something that outside things go unnoticed.
   - Simple: So focused on something that you do not notice anything around you.
   - _Completely lost in the music, she didn't hear anyone call her name._
   - _He was lost in daydreams while the lecture droned on around him._
8. Wasted, squandered, or used to no good effect, rather than put to use or enjoyed.
   - Simple: Wasted or thrown away without being used well.
   - _He regretted the lost years he had spent at a dead-end job._
   - _The lost opportunity to invest early ended up costing them dearly._
9. Of a joke, comment or effort: failing to be noticed, grasped or valued by its intended target; used with on.
   - Simple: Said of a joke, remark or effort that the person it was meant for did not notice, get or value.
   - _The irony of the moment was lost on the senator, who kept repeating the same promise._
   - _Our careful seating plan was completely lost on the guests, who sat wherever they liked._
10. No longer perceptible to the senses, having passed out of sight or hearing.
   - Simple: No longer able to be seen or heard.
   - _The mountain peak was lost behind the gathering clouds._
   - _Her whisper was lost beneath the roar of the engines._

## Origin

This comes from Middle English forms like "loste" and "lost," from Old English "losode" and "losod"; it is essentially "lose" plus the past-tense ending "-t."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/lost (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).