- loss
- /lɒs/ noun1. the state or process of not having something any more♦ loss of customers not keeping customers because of bad service, high prices, etc.♦ loss of an order not getting an order which was expected♦ the company suffered a loss of market penetration the company found it had a smaller share of the market♦ compensation for loss of earnings payment to someone who has stopped earning money or who is not able to earn money♦ compensation for loss of office payment to a director who is asked to leave a company before his or her contract ends2. the state of having less money than before or of not making a profit♦ the company suffered a loss the company did not make a profit♦ to report a loss not to show a profit in the accounts at the end of the year● The company reported a loss of £1m on the first year’s trading.♦ the car was written off as a dead loss or a total loss the car was so badly damaged that the insurers said it had no value♦ at a loss making a loss, not making any profit● The company is trading at a loss.● We sold the shop at a loss.♦ to cut your losses to stop doing something which is losing money3. damage to property or destruction of property, which is then subject to an insurance claim♦ the cargo was written off as a total loss the cargo was so badly damaged that the insurers said it had no value▪▪▪‘…against losses of FFr 7.7m two years ago, the company made a net profit of FFr 300,000 last year’ [Financial Times]
Dictionary of banking and finance. 2015.