lost
adjective
Simple meaning
In an unknown location.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
lawstIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈlɔst
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
In an unknown location; unable to be found.
Having wandered from, or unable to find, the way.
Parted with; no longer held or possessed.
Spiritually or physically doomed or destroyed
Ruined or destroyed, either physically or morally; past help or hope.
Not perceptible to the senses; no longer visible.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A1 · Beginner
- Frequency
- Very Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: In an unknown location; unable to be found.
Used this way, lost is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use lost
- “I lost my keys again, so now I cannot get into the house.”adjective
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Repository in a public building where lost articles can be kept until their owners reclaim them.
A defeated cause or a cause for which defeat is inevitable.
The ten Tribes of Israel that were deported into captivity in Assyria around 720 BC (leaving only the tribes of Judah and Benjamin).
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.