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to post this spelling correction? LOSE to mean the loss of something

136 replies

Horsie · 01/10/2025 23:43

I'm on a public-service mission to correct one of the world's most common misspellings. I've seen it thousands and thousands of times online. I think it must be the most misspelt word in the world. Saw it twice today just on Mumsnet.

No shade AT ALL. I literally want to help people look better in writing.

Here goes:

To lose something is spelt LOSE and not loose. Loose only ever means not tight, or to let something go, like a horse. I turned my horse loose. I hope I never lose him.

I'm losing the will to live.
I always lose competitions.
That person is a loser.

My jeans are loose.
My ring goes loosely over my knuckle.
I'm a loser wearing loose jeans.
I always lose my ring in the pool because it becomes loose.

I never realised how commonly this word was misspelt until the internet. I suppose because "lose" does sound like a double "O" with its oooo sound (as opposed to rhyming with hose). That's probably where the confusion comes in, and the wrong spelling is being perpetuated millions and millions of times because of the internet.

I wish someone like JK Rowling with a huge reach would tweet the correct spellings, as a public service. No one likes to look bad in writing.

So there you have it, folks. Write it down a hundred times.

Lose
Lose
Lose
Lose

LOOSE

OP posts:
JarellQuansahsGolfClubs · 02/10/2025 10:34

I agree wholeheartedly with your mission by the way @Horsie .

JarellQuansahsGolfClubs · 02/10/2025 10:32

Horsie · 02/10/2025 00:43

Omg yes, auto-correct is the very devil. It has a LOT to answer for. I remember in the early days of Word when it changed my school essay about Emily Bronte to being about Omelette Roulette. And it's no better today.

I've always kept quiet, but now I'm going to help people look better in writing.

From now on, Emily Brontë will be Omelette Roulette in my head. 😁

nowinetimeforme · 02/10/2025 09:48

I actually have to think about this every time I write it because I often feel compelled to write loose when I mean lose. Loose looks so much more appropriate for the word in my head, even though it's wrong.

mysoulmio · 02/10/2025 09:45

I want it to stop if only because when people post 'I'm going to loose my shit' or 'I'll loose my shit' it conjures up disturbing inages in my head, especially around mealtimes.

I've even seen 'I'm loosing my shit!' in real-time.

WishIcouldstay · 02/10/2025 09:34

thecatdidit · 02/10/2025 09:29

@Ratafia you probably meant Murphy's Law😂

She didn’t. That’s the whole point.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muphry%27s_law

thecatdidit · 02/10/2025 09:33

How about "my grammar and punctuation are not good" instead? 🤦‍♀️

thecatdidit · 02/10/2025 09:29

@Ratafia you probably meant Murphy's Law😂

thecatdidit · 02/10/2025 09:28

Ratafia · 02/10/2025 08:24

However, my grammar and punctuation is good.

Oh dear. Muphry's law strikes again.

Whoops 🤣

BernadetteJune · 02/10/2025 08:45

I love your little ditty to help people remember. Are you a teacher? If not - sign up now! Failing that - you could start up a business making posters for classrooms. Here are some other common misconceptions to get you going:
Specific / Pacific
Accept / Except
Effect / Affect
Present / Presence
desert / dessert

Good luck OP 😃

Theyreeatingthedogs · 02/10/2025 08:31

Bobbie12345678 · 02/10/2025 00:03

This.
I once heard the phrase, ‘grammar is a social construct from the more educated (and often wealthy) designed to make the less educated feel bad’. It really struck home.

How much education do you need to be able to spell lose and loose correctly? Not much. Your lazy thinking brings about unintelligible writing which helps no one, least of all those in need. Education is NEVER a bad thing.

Londonnight · 02/10/2025 08:29

I agree with you. It drives me mad and you see if everywhere nowadays spelt wrong.
I am on a few weight loss groups, and the amount of people who ask about loosing weight is really annoying. You lose weight, not loose. They mean very different things.

Unfortunately I feel it is here to stay as it is now so widespread.

Ratafia · 02/10/2025 08:26

allthemiddlechildrenoftheworld · 02/10/2025 08:24

would the correct word not be loosening your trousers?? loosing is not even a word in the way people are tryiing to use it so people should never be using it!

Edited

Well, yes, if that is what you mean. But when you use "loose" instead of "lose" you leave it uncertain. Plus, of course, it's a different pronunciation.

Ratafia · 02/10/2025 08:24

However, my grammar and punctuation is good.

Oh dear. Muphry's law strikes again.

allthemiddlechildrenoftheworld · 02/10/2025 08:24

Ratafia · 02/10/2025 08:23

The problem is that that quote just isn't true. The simple fact is that using the right grammar and spelling is just basic politeness and avoids confusion in what you are saying. If you say that you are loosing your trousers, for instance, do you mean that you've made them loose or that they are coming down accidentally? To use another well-known example, there is a clear and important difference between saying that someone "eats shoots and leaves" and "eats, shoots and leaves".

Even if one particular example is not ambiguous, the constant use of incorrect constructions and spellings makes things awkward and difficult to read. Dyslexia and genuine typos aside, it's not difficult to get it right - in fact, it's often easier.

would the correct word not be loosening your trousers?? loosing is not even a word in the way people are tryiing to use it so people should never be using it!

allthemiddlechildrenoftheworld · 02/10/2025 08:23

@Horsie another bad one which I often see on mumsnet is advice and advise!! people should say the sentence to themselves to find the correct spelling of the word they wish to use!

Ratafia · 02/10/2025 08:23

Bobbie12345678 · 02/10/2025 00:03

This.
I once heard the phrase, ‘grammar is a social construct from the more educated (and often wealthy) designed to make the less educated feel bad’. It really struck home.

The problem is that that quote just isn't true. The simple fact is that using the right grammar and spelling is just basic politeness and avoids confusion in what you are saying. If you say that you are loosing your trousers, for instance, do you mean that you've made them loose or that they are coming down accidentally? To use another well-known example, there is a clear and important difference between saying that someone "eats shoots and leaves" and "eats, shoots and leaves".

Even if one particular example is not ambiguous, the constant use of incorrect constructions and spellings makes things awkward and difficult to read. Dyslexia and genuine typos aside, it's not difficult to get it right - in fact, it's often easier.

TeaAndStrumpets · 02/10/2025 08:22

vare · 02/10/2025 07:54

@TeaAndStrumpets in my head I can’t help but read that “me toh”

I think me to what?? Like it's on a to-do list....Me to take cat to vet. Dh to tidy garage etc. Or maybe poster has reminded herself Me to challenge the Patriarchy today, which to be honest I could applaud!

Sadly I imagine it's Autocorrect. I turned off my spellchecking thingy because it thinks it knows better than me!

Ratafia · 02/10/2025 08:13

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

Oh, come off it. OP isn't correcting someone who has come looking for help or saying that they are in some way inferior if they get this wrong. We live in an age when there is increased emphasis on grammar and spelling in schools, and we do our children no favours if we don't give them a good example.

Messingwithmyheadagain · 02/10/2025 08:08

Definitely and defiantly is another one

Westfacing · 02/10/2025 08:06

To be honest I think it's a lost cause - it's so common and almost becoming the norm!

Don't loose sleep over it 😄

thecatdidit · 02/10/2025 08:00

I agree wholeheartedly with you @Horsie.
(Or is it wholeheartedly agree?)
I'm not classed as well educated because my schooling stopped at 16 . (This wasn't unusual back in the Seventies when I started work.)
However, my grammar and punctuation is good.
I also despair at "of" used instead of "have"
I get they sound the same when contracted to " 've" . But who says "I of to stop ranting now?"
😂
Ah, I feel better now.

DappledThings · 02/10/2025 07:58

This comes up quite often and I get to mention again the gravestone I once saw that said "it hurt to loose you so soon".

I'd say it does matter if people are fucking it up on something designed to be around and legible for a few centuries

DisplayPurposesOnly · 02/10/2025 07:54

My particular bugbear is people using ; when they mean : It's rife in my own organisation. Stop doing that!

vare · 02/10/2025 07:54

@TeaAndStrumpets in my head I can’t help but read that “me toh”

TeaAndStrumpets · 02/10/2025 07:52

Just seen another poster refer to the "Me To" movement.