loss

be a dead loss

1. if something or someone is a dead loss, they disappoint you because they are of bad quality or because they are not able to do what you want them to do. The meeting was a dead loss. We didn't come to a single decision. He may have been a great poet, but he was a dead loss as a husband.

2. to be very bad at a particular activity or subject. I was an absolute dead loss at sport when I was at school. (sometimes + at)

See also: dead

be at a loss

to not know what to do or say. He won't accept financial help from me so I'm at a loss to know what to do. (usually + to do something) For once I found myself completely at a loss for words. (= I did not know what to say)

cut your losses

to stop doing something that is already failing in order to reduce the amount of time or money that is being wasted on it. I wasn't benefiting from the course and it was costing so much that I thought I'd better cut my losses.

See also: cut

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at a loss

unable to know how to act or what to do. He felt totally at a loss about how to proceed with the making of a dictionary.

at a loss for words

unable to think of something to say. If I was alone with her, I'd feel at a loss for words.

Usage notes: usually this happens because you are surprised

See also: word

cut your losses

to stop wasting time or money on something by ending your connection to it. When a project is failing, you've got to learn to cut your losses and move on.

See also: cut