Lose or Loose? Meaning, Rules + 30 Exercises

Lose is a verb meaning to misplace something or fail to win: don't lose your keys, we might lose the game. Loose is usually an adjective meaning not tight or not fixed: a loose screw, loose jeans. Lose rhymes with choose and ends in a z sound; loose rhymes with goose and ends in an s sound.

The forms follow from that: lose, lost, losing and loser belong to the verb; loose, looser, loosely and loosen belong to the adjective. Loosing is a real word, but only as the rare verb loose (to release), so 'I'm loosing my keys' is always a typo for losing. The 30 questions below start with the basic pair and move on to the forms and idioms that cause most mistakes.

Lose or Loose Quiz: 30 Questions

Warm-up · verb or adjective?

1.Don't ___ your boarding pass before we reach the gate.

2.These jeans are too ___ around the waist.

3.We can't afford to ___ another customer.

4.One of the screws in this chair has come ___.

5.I ___ my keys yesterday and had to call a locksmith.

6.She wore her hair ___ for the wedding.

7.Which word rhymes with choose?

8.Which word rhymes with goose?

9.If we ___ this game, we're out of the tournament.

10.The dog broke ___ from its lead and ran into the park.

Core · forms and fixed phrases

11.I keep ___ my glasses.

12.He's a terrible ___; he sulks for days after every defeat.

13.This shirt is ___ than the blue one, so it's more comfortable.

14.Can you ___ the lid? It's stuck.

15.The company made a ___ of two million dollars last year.

16.Try not to ___ your temper in the meeting.

17.There are still a few ___ ends to tie up before launch.

18.Keep some ___ change in the car for parking.

19.The escaped prisoner is still on the ___.

20.We've completely ___ track of time.

21.I'm trying to ___ weight before the summer.

22.Hold the rope ___, not tightly.

Challenge · typos that spellcheckers accept

23.Which sentence about patience is correct?

24.Which sentence about the shelf is correct?

25.In 'The archers loosed their arrows', what does loosed mean?

26.Apply now. You have nothing to ___.

27.What final sound does lose have?

28.The team's ___ streak finally ended on Saturday.

29.She was afraid she would ___ the ___ earring.

30.After the screw worked ___, the handle fell off and I nearly ___ it down the drain.

Answer key and explanationsOpen after you finish the quiz.

1. loseYou need a verb after don't, and the meaning is misplace. That is lose. Loose is an adjective, and loss is a noun.
2. looseAfter are too you need an adjective describing the jeans. Loose means not tight. Lose is a verb and cannot describe clothes.
3. loseTo lose a customer means to stop having them, a sense of the verb lose. Loosen means make less tight, which does not fit here.
4. looseCome loose is a fixed phrase meaning become unfastened. It uses the adjective loose, not the verb lose.
5. lostLose is irregular: lose, lost, lost. Losed does not exist, and loosed is the past of the rare verb loose (release), which does not mean misplace.
6. looseHair that is not tied up is loose hair. Loose describes the state of the hair, so the adjective is needed.
7. loseLose is pronounced /luːz/ and ends in a z sound, like choose. Loose ends in an s sound (/luːs/), and loss has a short vowel.
8. looseLoose is pronounced /luːs/, like goose, moose and noose. The double o and the s sound go together in all four words.
9. loseFail to win is a meaning of the verb lose. After if we the present-tense verb lose is needed.
10. looseBreak loose means escape from something that holds you. Like come loose, it uses the adjective loose.
11. losingThe -ing form of lose drops the final e: losing, with one o. Loosing exists only as the -ing form of the rare verb loose (release).
12. loserA loser is someone who loses, so it comes from the verb lose and has one o. Looser means more loose.
13. looserThe comparison than the blue one needs a comparative adjective. Looser is the comparative of loose (less tight).
14. loosenLoosen is the everyday verb meaning make less tight. Lose the lid would mean misplace it, which is not what the speaker wants.
15. lossAfter made a you need a noun. Loss is the noun related to lose; make a loss is a standard business phrase.
16. loseLose your temper is a fixed phrase with the verb lose. After try not to, the base form lose is needed.
17. looseLoose ends are unfinished details, like loose threads. The adjective loose describes the noun ends.
18. looseLoose change means coins carried in a pocket, purse or car. It is a fixed adjective-noun phrase with loose, never lose.
19. looseOn the loose is a fixed idiom meaning free after escaping. It always uses loose and is never on the lose.
20. lostLose track of is a fixed phrase. After have, the past participle of lose is needed, which is lost.
21. loseLose weight uses the verb lose. Loose weight is a very common typo, but it would mean weight that is not tight.
22. looselyLoosely is the adverb formed from loose, and it contrasts with tightly. Losely and lostly are not words.
23. I'm losing my patience.Losing your patience uses the verb lose. Loosing is a real word, so a basic spellchecker may accept it, but it means releasing, not losing.
24. The bolts were loose, so the shelf fell.After were you need an adjective describing the bolts. Loose (not tight) fits; lose is a verb and loss is a noun.
25. released or shotLoose has a rare, mostly literary verb use meaning release or let fly. It is unrelated to lose, so loosed does not mean lost.
26. loseNothing to lose is a fixed phrase meaning no risk. It needs the verb lose after to.
27. A z sound, as in buzzLose ends in a z sound (/luːz/), even though it is spelled with an s. Loose ends in a true s sound (/luːs/).
28. losingA losing streak is a run of defeats, so the -ing form of lose is needed: losing. Loosening means making something less tight.
29. lose … looseThe first gap needs a verb after would (lose, misplace). The second describes the earring, so it needs the adjective loose: lose the loose earring.
30. loose … lostWork loose means gradually become unfastened, so the first gap is the adjective loose. The second gap is the past of lose: lost.

Lose Is the Verb; Loose Is (Almost Always) the Adjective

Lose is a verb. It means to misplace something (lose your phone), to stop having something (lose a customer, lose weight) or to fail to win (lose a match). Its forms are lose, loses, lost, losing, and the person who loses is a loser.

Loose is an adjective. It means not tight, not fixed or not tied: loose clothes, a loose tooth, loose hair. Its forms are loose, looser, loosest and the adverb loosely. When you need a verb meaning make something less tight, use loosen.

lose → lost → lost; losing; loser (one o, z sound).
loose → looser → loosest; loosely; loosen (two os, s sound).
loss is the noun from lose: a loss of data, make a loss.
lost is also an adjective: a lost dog, lost in thought.

Lose has lost one o. If the word is about losing something, it gets one o; if it is about something not being tight, it keeps both.

Why the Two Words Get Mixed Up

English spelling sends mixed signals here. Choose has a double o and a z sound, so writers expect lose to look like choose. Meanwhile goose, moose and noose have a double o and an s sound, which matches loose. The two patterns sit side by side, and fast typing picks the wrong one.

The mistake also survives because both spellings are real words. A basic spellchecker sees nothing wrong with 'I don't want to loose my job' or 'I'm loosing my mind', because loose and loosing exist. Only a check that reads the word in context, as a verb or an adjective, will catch it.

Say It Out Loud: /luːz/ vs /luːs/

The two words share the same long vowel, the oo of food. The difference is the final consonant. Lose ends in a voiced z sound, /luːz/, rhyming with choose, news and shoes. Loose ends in an unvoiced s sound, /luːs/, rhyming with goose, juice and truce.

If you are unsure which spelling you need, say the sentence out loud. 'Don't lose (z) your ticket' and 'a loose (s) thread' sound different, and the sound tells you the spelling.

Common Phrases to Learn as Whole Units

With lose: lose weight, lose track of, lose your temper, lose touch, lose out, nothing to lose, a losing battle.
With loose: loose change, loose ends, a loose cannon, on the loose, come loose, break loose, cut loose, let loose, hang loose.
Rare verb loose (release): loose an arrow, loose the dogs. In everyday writing, release or let loose is clearer.

When proofreading, search for 'loos'. Every result should be loose, looser, loosely or loosen; if you find loosing, it is almost certainly a typo for losing.

Keep practicing

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it losing or loosing?

Losing, with one o, is the -ing form of lose: losing weight, losing a game, losing my keys. Loosing is the -ing form of the rare verb loose (to release, as in loosing an arrow), so in almost every everyday sentence the correct word is losing.

How do you pronounce lose and loose?

Lose is /luːz/ and ends in a z sound, rhyming with choose. Loose is /luːs/ and ends in an s sound, rhyming with goose. The vowel is the same in both.

Is it loser or looser?

A loser is a person who loses, from the verb lose. Looser is the comparative of the adjective loose and means less tight: these shoes are looser than my old ones.

Catch Lose/Loose Typos in Context

Both words pass a basic spellcheck. PromGee's free grammar checker reads them in context and flags the wrong one, with the fix explained.

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Lose or Loose? Meaning, Pronunciation + 30 Exercises