lost
/lɒst/adjective, verb
lost is spelled L-O-S-T: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 245 times per million words in written English, the 402nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “loss vs lost” about 2,900 times a month (Google, United States). As an adjective, lost means “Having wandered from, or unable to find, the way” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in lost?
| Letters | 4: L-O-S-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 245 times per million words; the 402nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is lost?
Lost appears 245 times per million words in written English, the 402nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce lost?
- UK /lɒst/
- British /lɔst/
- /lɔsʈ/
Lost has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-ca-lost.ogg, En-uk-lost.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with lost
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with lost?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as lost from its last stressed vowel (/ɒst/, British pronunciation):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: lots, slot.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of lost
- loster comparative
- more lost comparative
- lostest superlative
- most lost superlative
- los'
- loss
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does lost mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Having wandered from, or unable to find, the way.
The children were soon lost in the forest.
- 2
In an unknown location; unable to be found.
Deep beneath the ocean, the Titanic was lost to the world.
- 3
Not perceptible to the senses; no longer visible.
an island lost in a fog; a person lost in a crowd
- 4
Parted with; no longer held or possessed.
a lost limb; lost honour
- 5
Not employed or enjoyed; thrown away; employed ineffectually; wasted; squandered.
a lost day; a lost opportunity or benefit; no time should be lost
- 6
Ruined or destroyed, either physically or morally; past help or hope.
a ship lost at sea; a woman lost to virtue; a lost soul
- 7
Hardened beyond sensibility or recovery; alienated; insensible.
lost to shame; lost to all sense of honour
- 8
Occupied with, or under the influence of, something, so as not to notice external things.
to be lost in thought
verb
- 1
simple past and past participle of lose
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Lost in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | perdu |
| German | verirrt, verloren, umher irrend, orientierungslos , verschollen |
| Portuguese | perdido , extraviado |
| Spanish | perdido |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does lost come from?
From Middle English loste, losede (preterite) and Middle English lost, ilost, ilosed (past participle), from Old English losode (preterite) and Old English losod, ġelosod, equivalent to lose + -t.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).