fail vs lose

fail

verb
  • To be unsuccessful. 

  • Not to achieve a particular stated goal. (Usage note: The direct object of this word is usually an infinitive.) 

  • To become unable to meet one's engagements; especially, to be unable to pay one's debts or discharge one's business obligation; to become bankrupt or insolvent. 

  • To receive one or more non-passing grades in academic pursuits. 

  • To give a student a non-passing grade in an academic endeavour. 

  • To be wanting to, to be insufficient for, to disappoint, to desert; to disappoint one's expectations. 

  • To be wanting; to fall short; to be or become deficient in any measure or degree up to total absence. 

  • To neglect. 

  • Of a machine, etc.: to cease to operate correctly. 

noun
  • A failure, especially of a financial transaction (a termination of an action). 

  • A failure (condition of being unsuccessful). 

  • A failing grade in an academic examination. 

  • Poor quality; substandard workmanship. 

  • A failure (something incapable of success). 

  • A piece of turf cut from grassland. 

adj
  • Unsuccessful; inadequate; unacceptable in some way. 

lose

verb
  • To fail to win (a game, competition, trial, etc). 

  • To cause (somebody) to be unable to follow or trace one any longer. 

  • To shed (weight). 

  • To fail to catch with the mind or senses; to miss. 

  • To cause (something) to cease to be in one's possession or capability due to unfortunate or unknown circumstances, events or reasons. 

  • To have (an organ) removed from one's body, especially by accident. 

  • To shed, remove, discard, or eliminate. 

  • To wander from; to miss, so as not to be able to find; to go astray from. 

  • To cause (someone) the loss of something; to deprive of. 

  • To be unable to follow or trace (somebody or something) any longer. 

  • To experience the death of (someone to whom one has an attachment, such as a relative or friend). 

  • To be deprived of access to something. 

  • To cease exhibiting; to overcome (a behavior or emotion). 

  • To give or owe (money) after losing a bet. 

  • Of a clock, to run slower than expected. 

How often have the words fail and lose occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )