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barely lose

[ˈbɛrli luːz]
verb phrase
perder por pouco
1. to lose by a very small margin or narrow difference
Our team barely lost the championship game by one point.
Nosso time perdeu por pouco o jogo do campeonato por um ponto.
2. to almost win but ultimately fail or be defeated
She barely lost the election to her opponent.
Ela perdeu por pouco a eleição para seu oponente.
Synonyms
nearly losealmost loselose narrowlylose by a hairlose by a whisker
Antonyms
win decisivelywin by a landslideeasily winclearly win

Regional Variations

General Brazilian
perder por pouco
most common usage in Brazil
São Paulo
perder por pouco
standard usage
Rio de Janeiro
perder por pouco
standard usage
Portugal
perder por muito pouco
Portuguese variant with emphasis on narrowness

Related Idioms & Phrases

lose by a hair
lose by a whisker
come up just short
fall short by a narrow margin
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