A LITTLE WORD KNOW-HOW

Lose or Loose? Correct Spelling & Examples

Lose commonly concerns no longer having something or failing to win. Loose commonly describes something not firmly fixed. The extra O changes the word, not just its appearance.

See it in a sentence

Do not lose the loose tile.

Try a quick check

Choose a form in each sentence: “We might ___ the round” and “The tile is ___.” The first needs lose, a verb; the second needs loose, an adjective. Losing drops the final E of lose, while loosening belongs to loosen. Reading only the number of Os without considering the sentence can still leave a mistake.