loose ~ lose ~ loss
[slightly different vowel sound]
“Loose” (with a double ‘o’ — for the right pronunciation, please click here) as an adjective, means ‘not tight; not firm; not tied; not packed; not strict in morals; not under control; carefree behaviour’; and as a verb, it is ‘to let go something free; to free somebody or something without control’, — loose – loosed – loosed
e.g.
This trouser is too loose (wide) at the waist; I need a smaller size, please. (opposite of tight)
There is a killer on the loose, and the police advise the locals to be alert all the time.
The soldiers loosed their guns, and there were many civil casualties. (opened fire; started shooting)
As an adjective “loose” takes ‘Looser’ and ‘loosest’ for comparative and superlative forms respectively. For example: His shoes are looser than hers. My knot is the loosest of all the knots.
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“Lose” (with a single ‘o’ — for the right pronunciation, please click here) is a verb — lose – lost – lost – losing, and it means ‘to come to be without something that one had before, through carelessness or by accident, etc.’,
e.g.
Isn’t it common to lose our children in such crowded places?
She has been trying hard to lose some body weight before her wedding, but without much success.
A “loser” is a person who loses.
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“Loss” (noun; for the right pronunciation, please click here) means ‘the fact of not having something, or having less or only some part of it than you used to have; (opposite of ‘profit’)’,
e.g.
He made a loss of $ 200,000 in his advertising business last year.
I am very sorry at the loss of your friend. [i.e. ‘the friend’ died]
Common Errors:
1.
People usually loose their belongings when they travel on crowded buses. [wrong]
People usually lose their belongings when they travel on crowded buses. [right]
2.
His trousers were so lose that we thought he wore his elder brother’s! [wrong]
His trousers were so loose that we thought he wore his elder brother’s! [right]
3.
This poor child loosed its parents in an accident. [wrong]
This poor child lost its parents in an accident. [right]
