loss

noun
  1. a : decrease in value, capital, or amount — compare gain

    b : an amount by which the cost of something (as goods or services) exceeds the selling price — compare profit

    c : something unintentionally destroyed or placed beyond recovery

    d : the amount of an insured's financial detriment due to the occurrence of a stipulated event (as death, injury, destruction, or damage) in such a manner as to create liability in the insurer under the terms of the policy

    Note: As a general rule, economic losses are deductible from adjusted gross income under section 165 of the Internal Revenue Code. There are, however, numerous exceptions and limitations.

    — actual loss
    : the identifiable and calculable monetary detriment that is suffered or will be suffered as a result of an act or event

    — actual total loss
    : a loss in marine insurance in which the property (as a vessel or cargo) cannot be repaired or recovered — compare constructive total loss in this entry

    — capital loss
    : the amount by which the book value of a capital asset exceeds the amount realized from the sale or exchange of the asset

    — casualty loss
    : loss of property as a result of a fire, storm, shipwreck, or other catastrophic event

    — consequential loss
    : a loss that arises as an indirect result of an act or event — called also indirect loss; compare direct loss in this entry

    — constructive total loss
    : a loss in marine insurance in which the cost of repairing or recovering a ship or its cargo would be more than the ship or cargo is worth — compare actual total loss in this entry

    — direct loss
    : a loss arising directly from an act or event — compare consequential loss in this entry

    — indirect loss
    : consequential loss in this entry

    — net operating loss
    : the amount by which the expenses of operating a business exceed the income derived from it — see also carryback, carryover

    — ordinary loss
    : a loss from the sale or exchange of any asset that is not a capital asset

    — partial loss
    : a loss arising from damage to property that does not render it a total loss

    — total loss
    : a loss arising from damage to property that is so substantial as to make the property valueless to an insured

  1. : the act or fact of suffering physical, emotional, or especially economic harm or detriment