had got lost vs had gotten lost

Both 'had got lost' and 'had gotten lost' are correct, but their usage depends on the variety of English being used. 'Had got lost' is more common in British English, while 'had gotten lost' is more common in American English.

Last updated: April 06, 2024 • 415 views

had got lost

This phrase is correct, especially in British English.

This phrase is commonly used in British English to indicate that someone became lost in the past.

Examples:

He had got lost in the forest and couldn't find his way back.
She had got lost in the city and had to ask for directions.
The children had got lost in the maze and were scared.
I had got lost in the crowd and couldn't see my friends.
The dog had got lost and was wandering the streets.

Show examples from the web [+]

And yet it worked. < > The little salt spreader planes that had got lost saw the signal and finally found their way back to the sea.Just a little while later, they started to open up their large salt holds and do their usual work.
James had got lost, and we'd ended up by mistake in Bucharest.
The little salt spreader planes that had got lost saw the signal and finally found their way back to the sea.
Margaret Thatcher Queen of Soho (2013), a drag comedy musical play, displays what life would have been like if Margaret Thatcher had got lost in Soho on the eve of the vote for section 28.
The Archduke's driver had got lost in the city's old town and the car... Well, this makes me laugh and cry even now, the car was stuck right outside Princip's coffee house.
The all-eaters of bourgeoisie and all kinds of their shoeshines would have had from history the same nuisances even without "ipse dixit", even if the above-mentioned mister Marx weren't born, even if his volumes had got lost.
On 24 May 2013, a few hours after an Italian man, Renato Zambelli, aged 73, went missing, his group of pilgrims managed to contact him via cell phone and he told them he had got lost in the bushes.

Alternatives:

had become lost
had become separated
had become disoriented
had become misplaced
had become stranded

had gotten lost

This phrase is correct, especially in American English.

This phrase is commonly used in American English to indicate that someone became lost in the past.

Examples:

He had gotten lost in the desert and had to be rescued.
She had gotten lost in the mountains and had to spend the night outdoors.
The hikers had gotten lost on the trail and had to find their way back.
I had gotten lost in the airport and missed my flight.
The car had gotten lost in the parking lot and took a while to find.

Show examples from the web [+]

His real father, however, had gotten lost within the walls.
In a more positive effort, the administration arranged for two ships to assist in the United Kingdom's search for a team of British explorers, led by John Franklin, who had gotten lost in the Arctic.
He said he had gotten lost in the storm, collapsed in the snow, and just laid there, unable to move.
The last overflight of Churchill had evidenced one critical condition; esteem had gotten lost 20 tons of weight for the impossibility of eating regularly and its coloration was much clearest of the normal.
He said he had gotten lost in the storm, collapsed in the snow, and just laid there, unable to move.
And if you hadn't gotten lost afterwards...
Well, it wouldn't have been eight hours if you hadn't gotten lost.
I've gotten lost, like, 11 times.
He's been gone too long to have gotten lost.
People have gotten lost out here, you know.
He must've gotten lost in the ventilation ducts when they attacked us.
I've gotten lost plenty of times on these paths.
Sorry, we must have gotten lost.
Now the message has gotten lost.
Must have gotten lost in evidence.
Excuse me, I seem to have gotten lost.
The ring could've gotten lost anywhere.
His reply card must've gotten lost in the mail.
She must have gotten lost in the trees.
Must have gotten lost on his way back.

Alternatives:

had become lost
had become separated
had become disoriented
had become misplaced
had become stranded

What Our Customers Are Saying

Our customers love us! We have an average rating of 4.79 stars based on 283,125 votes.
Also check out our 2,100+ reviews on TrustPilot (4.9).

"Amazing! I like that the editors are REAL people and not A.I., like some use. The editors actually see clients as real people and not just apart of their job, and it shows. 💖"
moggie April 2025
"TextRanch has been a great help to me, especially at work because I often email my boss."
Jhey April 2025
"Thank you!"
Sachi Nakama July 2024
"I have literally been through chat, PI, claude, bard and bing and I got conflicting answers! Thank you! Human intelligence reigns!"
Retha July 2024
"Faster than AI"
CYNTHIA December 2023
"This was very helpful and I personally think this site is the best."
Kaden October 2023
"It was extremely thorough and very helpful!"
imperialelisa October 2023
"7 years without any disappointment. Always 100% satisfied. You guys are the best in the world at what you do. Thank you so much :)"
Zubair Alam October 2023
"In a world of text messages and online communication, this is great to have as a live tool. Thank you."
Selena October 2023
"Without textranch I would be stuck!"
宏祐 October 2023
"Accuracy and fast response. Personal comments from editor. Thank you."
Clh September 2023
"I wasn't aware of this service, it's fascinating and more reliable than standard IA tools available on the internet"
Arturo September 2023
"The fact that you can get reliable fast feedback on your texts."
Vinicius Antonio August 2023
"you guys are better than grammarly i'm being honest here"
ordinary July 2023
"OMG! This is really good than any other text correction tools I've used so far. Highly recommend this."
Vehan July 2023
"Very fast and accurate. thank you."
mojtaba July 2023
"I love this app because it's help to writing skills all of students ♥️"
Tarisini July 2023
"This was exactly the mistake I was looking for, the wording dind´t sound right at first. Better than grammarly!"
Ente July 2023
"The immediate help that I received was reassuring and very satisfactory. Thanks."
priiiyanshuu July 2023
"this helps A LOT for my studies."
kathnunez02 June 2023
"Woow!! I would never have expected such precision! Thank you soooo much!!"
Berta June 2023
"Real Time Editor and not AI. Many Thanks."
Priya June 2023
"The very first thing excites me about Textranch is how much your editors care."
sepideh June 2023
"The fact that texts are checked by human editors rather than by AI, etc. I appreciate this!"
Анна June 2023