Tell it apart
| Aspect | Lose | Loose |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | Verb | Usually an adjective |
| Means | Mislay; stop having; be beaten | Not fixed, tied or tight |
| Sounds like | Choose (/luːz/) | Goose (/luːs/) |
| Example | 'Don't lose the receipt.' | 'The handle is loose.' |
Lose (one o, rhymes with choose) is a verb: to mislay, to stop having, or to be defeated. Loose (two o's, rhymes with goose) is usually an adjective: not fixed, not tight, not tied. The common slip is writing 'loosing' for 'losing'; when you mislay something, it's always the one-o word.
What it really means
Lose and loose differ by one letter and one sound, and the extra o is what causes the trouble. You'd expect the word with more letters to be the longer, slower one. Instead, both have the same long oo vowel, and the real difference is at the end: lose ends in a buzzing z sound (it rhymes with choose), while loose ends in a hissing s (it rhymes with goose).
The meanings don't overlap at all. Lose is a verb with a cluster of related senses: to be unable to find something ("I've lost my keys"), to stop having something ("he lost his job") and to be beaten ("we lost 2–1"). Loose is usually an adjective: not firmly fixed (a loose tooth), not tied (loose hair), not tight (loose clothes), free to roam (the sheep got loose).
The mistake almost always runs one way: people write loose or loosing when they mean lose or losing. Learner's dictionaries single out "She's always loosing her phone" as the classic error.
To muddy things slightly, loose can also be a verb meaning to release, as in archers loosing arrows. It's an uncommon use, which is why "loosing your keys" almost always means a slip of the keyboard.
Memory trick. Lose has lost one of its o's. Loose has room to spare, two o's, like a belt with slack in it.
In real life
- Right: I always lose my glasses. (mislay: one o)
- Right: Wear loose clothing on long flights. (not tight: two o's)
- Wrong: She's always loosing her phone. (the -ing form of lose is 'losing')
Questions
Q01What is the difference between lose and loose?
Lose is a verb: you lose your keys or lose a game. Loose is usually an adjective: a loose button, loose clothes. Lose has a z sound at the end; loose has an s sound.
Q02Is it losing or loosing?
Losing, when you mean mislaying or being beaten. Loosing exists only as the rare verb loose, meaning to release: 'loosing arrows'.
Q03Can loose be a verb?
Yes, but rarely. To loose something is to release it, as in archers loosing their arrows. It's the opposite of what most people expect, since the everyday verb is lose.
Sources
- lose (verb), with the lose / loose note — Oxford Learner's Dictionaries.
- loose (adjective) — Oxford Learner's Dictionaries.
- loose (adjective) — Cambridge Dictionary.