Lost crossword clue

The most likely answers for the crossword clue “Lost” are STRAY, CURST or MAZED, with 5 letters. Below are 64 answers from 4 to 13 letters, best match first in each length, then what each top answer means and how to tell them apart.

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The best answers, explained

LOSS 4 letters · noun

something that is lost “the car was a total loss”

STRAY 5 letters · verb

move about aimlessly or without any destination, often in search of food or employment

MISSED 6 letters · adjective

not caught with the senses or the mind

MISSING 7 letters · adjective

not able to be found “missing in action”

CONFUSED 8 letters · adjective

perplexed by many conflicting situations or statements; filled with bewilderment “bewildered and confused”

DESTROYED 9 letters · adjective

spoiled or ruined or demolished “war left many cities destroyed”

THOUGHTFUL 10 letters · adjective

having intellectual depth “a deeply thoughtful essay”

PREOCCUPIED 11 letters · adjective

deeply absorbed in thought “a preoccupied frown”

UNRECOVERABLE 13 letters · adjective

incapable of being recovered or regained

Telling them apart

With 4 squares, LOSS, COLD, FLAT, LIMP, SEAR and SERE all fit. The fourth letter tells them all apart: S → LOSS · D → COLD · T → FLAT · P → LIMP · R → SEAR · E → SERE. Fill in that crossing answer first.

With 5 squares, STRAY, CURST, MAZED, WHITE, FIRED and FADED all fit. The first letter settles most of it: S → STRAY · C → CURST · M → MAZED · W → WHITE · F → FIRED, FADED. Fill in that crossing answer first.

With 6 squares, MISSED, RUINED, WASTED, DAMNED, CURSED and DOOMED all fit. The first letter settles most of it: M → MISSED · R → RUINED · W → WASTED · D → DAMNED, DOOMED · C → CURSED. Fill in that crossing answer first.

Other forms of this clue

Clues often use another form of the word, and the answer then takes the same form: “losing” wants an answer that ends the same way.

What “lost” means

• adjective: no longer in your possession or control; unable to be found or recovered (“a lost child”)
• adjective: having lost your bearings; confused as to time or place or personal identity
• adjective: spiritually or physically doomed or destroyed (“lost souls”)
• adjective: not gained or won (“a lost battle”)

A clue usually points at one of these senses, so the right answer is the one that matches the sense the puzzle means: check it against the crossing words.

About these answers

We match the clue against our own thesaurus and dictionary (Open English WordNet): words that mean the same as LOST, and words whose definition is LOST. We don't copy answers from newspaper puzzles, so a clue that leans on trivia or wordplay may need the crossing letters instead.