The opposite of gain. Bloomberg Financial Dictionary
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loss loss [lɒs ǁ lɒːs] noun
1. [countable, uncountable] the fact of no longer having something that you used to have, or having less of it:
• loss of earnings through illness
ˈjob loss
[countable, uncountable] when people lose their jobs:
• Job loss from the proposed merger could reach 20,000 or more.
• The store closings will result in job losses for about 2,500 workers.
2. [countable] FINANCE when a business spends more money than it receives in a particular period of time, or loses money in some other way:
• The toy company blamed the losses on poor retail sales.
• The company made a loss of £670,000 last year.
• British banks hit by heavy losses on bad loans
• There's no reason for us to operate at a loss.
3. ACCOUNTING book/incur/post/take a loss to lose money and make a record of this in the accounts:
• The unit posted losses for the past two years, hurt by the economic slump.
a real loss of money, not one that is calculated or estimated, nor a
paper loss (= where there is no actual cash loss, for example when an asset falls in value but is not sold ) :
• The bank's capital went to zero, but the actual loss there will be close to 12% of assets, or $2.5 billion.
• By Dec. 18, it had changed that forecast to $254 million. The actual loss was $326 million.
a loss made by a company after tax has been calculated:
• The bank posted an after-tax loss of A$35.3 million, compared with a year-earlier profit of A$71.8 million.
a loss over a whole year's activities, even if some parts of the year were profitable:
• Analysts said the company could break its string of five consecutive years of annual losses.
a loss when an asset or investment loses value or is sold at a loss, especially in relation to the amount of tax payable:
• Banks could make a considerable capital loss if they were forced to sell their bonds now.
a loss made by a financial institution on its lending activities;
= LOAN LOSS:
• $40 million of the credit losses came from the devastated Arizona real estate market.
exˌceptional ˈloss also extraˌordinary ˈloss [countable] ACCOUNTING
a loss relating to an unusual event that is not part of a company's normal operating activities, for example the sale of part of the company:
• The sale of the company's printing unit resulted in an exceptional loss of £1.1 million.
a loss relating to the first six months of a company's financial year:
• They have announced a first-half loss, and cut their full-year forecast.
a loss relating to the whole of a company's financial year, rather than to a three-month or six-month period:
• Analysts are predicting a full-year loss of 30 million euros, reflecting the industrywide recession.
a company's loss before certain costs and taxes are taken away:
• The gross loss for the second quarter was $250,600.
• It is in the best interests of the company to increase the allowance for loan losses during these uncertain economic times.
• The oil company reported a fourth-quarter net loss of $2 billion after a $2.05 billion charge related to a massive restructuring.
• The results includes a $48 million pretax charge to cover the cost of cutting 900 jobs, as well as some other one-time losses.
a loss relating to a company's normal business operations, rather than to activities such as asset sales that only happen from time to time:
• Output at the mine was suspended earlier this year due to operating losses.
a loss in the value of an investment or of an asset in a company's accounts. A paper loss does not become an
actual loss unless the investment or asset is sold
a loss made on some types of investment, such as on income from property
a loss made by a company before tax is calculated:
• The network took pre-tax losses estimated at $275 million, and an after-tax loss of $170 million.
in the US, where companies announce their results every three months, a loss for a particular three-month period of a company's financial year:
• The bank reported five big quarterly losses due to the growing loan problems.
a loss made deliberately by a business to avoid paying tax on profits, usually by bringing forward capital spending to use up profits at the end of the tax year:
• He pleaded guilty to helping create fraudulent tax losses.
ˈtrading loss [countable]
1. FINANCE a loss made on a financial market:
• The bank suffered foreign-exchange trading losses of $420 million.
a loss by an insurance company on its insurance activities:
• an underwriting loss of £187 million — £103 million from two hurricanes, and £84 million from marine losses
4. [countable] INSURANCE an event that causes a person or organization to make a claim on an insurance contract
ˌactual ˌtotal ˈloss abbreviation ATL [countable, uncountable] INSURANCE
a loss where the thing insured is stolen or totally destroyed;
= WRITE-OFFˌconsequential ˈloss [countable, uncountable] INSURANCE
the loss of money, caused as an indirect result of what another person or organization has done :
• You can insure against consequential loss, caused by a supplier being unable through insolvency to fulfil their contractual obligations with you.
conˌstructive ˌtotal ˈloss abbreviation CTL [countable, uncountable] INSURANCE
a loss where the thing insured, for example a ship, is not destroyed, but where the insurer is forced to leave it where it is. The thing insured then becomes the property of the insurer, who may be able to get it back and sell it
ˈfire loss [countable, uncountable] INSURANCE
a loss where property is destroyed or damaged in a fire:
• The US has the worst rate of fire loss in the industrialized world.
ˌgeneral ˌaverage ˈloss [countable, uncountable] INSURANCE
a loss where the cost of damage to a ship or the goods it is carrying is shared by all the insurers, not just the insurer of the things actually damaged
ˌindirect ˈloss [countable, uncountable]
ˌpartial ˈloss also parˌticular ˌaverage ˈloss [countable, uncountable] INSURANCE
a loss where the thing insured is not totally lost or destroyed, and can be repaired
5. [countable, uncountable] LAW when a person or organization suffers or loses money because of the mistakes or
negligence of another
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loss UK US /lɒs/ noun
► [
C or
U] »
The loss of jobs in the convenience food industry seems inevitable.
loss of earnings/income/pay »
She received compensation for loss of earnings through the illness.
a loss in sth »
The new road will cause losses in economic value to many local properties.
► [
C]
FINANCE,
COMMERCE announce/post/report a loss (of sth) »
The company announced a loss of €1.3m last year.
»
a loss in revenue
»
big/financial/heavy losses
»
a net/operating loss
»
a pre-tax/after-tax loss
incur/make/realize a loss »
In a bid to attract customers, some insurers may even be making a loss on contracts marketed to certain key buyers.
»
a loss on an investment/a sale
► [
C]
STOCK MARKET a loss in sth »
Gains in oil and gas were partly offset by losses in consumer products and precious metals.
► [
U]
INSURANCE »
We will cover your house contents against accidental loss or damage during the removal.
► [
C]
be a loss to sb/sth »
It would be a great loss to the department if you left.