Ok, that’s it. It’s “lose”. Not “loose”.

By jonesy, April 9, 2008 10:48 am

Every. Single. Day. This. Happens.

I read a *LOT* of online technical documentation. Come to think of it, I read a *LOT* of documentation offline as well. I also occasionally read things like blogs and comments and stuff. In all of my reading, I have found that the most prevalent mistake made by the writer in terms of grammar and spelling is using the word “loose” in place of “lose”. So here’s the rule:

“Lose” is a verb, as in “I will lose my job if I do that”, or “Please lose my number”. Other forms include “losing” as in “I’m losing my mind”, and the ever-popular “loser”, as in “That Anonymous Coward is such a loser”.

On the other hand, the word “loose” is an adjective, as in “he’s got a few screws loose” or “that development team has somewhat loose morals – I’ve seen them at conferences”, or “loosely coupled”.

How about this: if you want to describe loss, lose the extra “o” — copyright me, today. :-D

9 Responses to “Ok, that’s it. It’s “lose”. Not “loose”.”

  1. jlc says:

    Loose is also sometimes a verb. Just sayin’!

  2. m0j0 says:

    Ok, but still…
    ;-P

  3. Mike Pirnat says:

    This is one of my pet peeves… It’s enough to make me loose my mind. ;-)

  4. Chris says:

    Loose the hounds on the losers!

  5. Robin says:

    English should get itself a better spelling system, so this confusion (and many others) would automatically go away ;) . If you don’t know what I’m talking about, try to read this aloud:

    http://www.hep.wisc.edu/~jnb/charivarius.html

    Yes, ay rili miin it.

  6. jj says:

    Here Here! I get mad at that to! There grammar sucks and their is no excuse.

  7. Hmm.

    Lose the extra o. There is an extra o loose.

    Works for me. :)

  8. Van says:

    jlc – Sorry but no, it’s Loosen.

  9. Losing It says:

    “Loose” can indeed be used as a verb, but it’s still pronounced “loose,” not “lose”. It’s somewhat old-fashioned, and means “let loose”: loose the hounds, loose the prisoners.

    Anyway, the loose/lose spelling thing is aggravating!

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