lose to vs lose against

Both 'lose to' and 'lose against' are commonly used in English, but 'lose to' is more widely accepted and used. 'Lose to' is the preferred phrase when talking about being defeated by someone or something, such as a rival sports team. 'Lose against' is also correct, but it's less common.

Explained by Jennifer
Editor at TextRanch

Last updated: February 19, 2025 • 6511 views

Correct. 'Lose to' is widely used when referring to being defeated by someone or something.

"lose to"

Use 'lose to' when describing a situation where someone or something is defeated by another person or team.

Examples:

We lost to the opposing team in the final match.
She always loses to her brother in chess.
The company lost to its competitors in the market share battle.

Show examples from the web [+]

Looks like you're about to lose to a minivan.
'06, I saw Xenakis lose to Bashir.
Step two, lose to your opponent intentionally, so they gain confidence.
Men are honored to lose to Sil Tavern.
They think we have too much to lose to fight back.
And even if I had, I have way too much to lose to throw it all away.
- I told you to lose to sakamoto.
I absolutely won't lose to those people.
I don't know, guys, I just think it's really sad that you are afraid to lose to a girl.
And I hate to lose to someone who's outspending me two to one.
For the first time I considered the possibility... we might lose to that fuckbrain Nixon.
And, yes, I rigged the 18th green so he would lose to Glen.
It's no disgrace for a servant to lose to his king.
You better not lose to these punks!
'Cause I refuse to lose to... to anyone.
How could you lose to Sally Sasser? -
Not to mention we would have him lose to an Englishman who was certain to humiliate him.
Come on, Beemer, you can't lose to that monster!
To get all the way to the final and then to lose to that bunch of...
I'm checking to see how much more I need to lose to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight.

Alternatives:

be defeated by
fall to
suffer defeat to
be bested by

Correct but less common. 'Lose against' is used to indicate being defeated by someone or something, but 'lose to' is more widely accepted.

"lose against"

While 'lose against' is correct, 'lose to' is the more commonly used phrase in English.

Examples:

The team lost against their rivals in the championship game.
He always loses against his older brother in arm wrestling.

Show examples from the web [+]

And since most were certain, in the optimistic little Dutch Republic who thought all Europe should be republican, that King Charles I of England would lose against his parliament, then those very, very valuable English assets would be forfeited to the Dutch,
They paid him to lose against Creel.
I mean, how can anyone lose against that guy?
If I lose against Raphael, we all lose.
You will lose against the power I now wield.
With tactics like that, our football team would lose against both India and China.
Since then, every time I have a bad day at work, or at home, or we lose against Real Madrid again... I get my bag, gate 58... and there I go to the stadium.

Alternatives:

be defeated by
fall to
suffer defeat to
be bested by

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lose to vs lose against

"lose to"

"lose against"

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