Definition

1. Adjective/Verb phrase:
   • To lose completely / to suffer a total loss: Describes a situation where one loses everything related to a specific endeavor, investment, or gamble, leaving nothing of value or benefit.
   • To be wiped out: Often used in financial, gaming, or competitive contexts to indicate a complete and utter loss with no return.

Usage Examples

• Adjective/Verb phrase:
  • Sau vụ đầu tư thất bại, công ty anh ấy mất trắng. (After the failed investment, his company lost everything.)
  • Cô ấy đánh bạc và mất trắng số tiền tiết kiệm. (She gambled and was wiped out of her savings.)
  • Đội nhà thua 5-0, thực sự là một trận thua mất trắng. (The home team lost 5-0, a truly complete loss.)

Advanced Usage

• The phrase often carries a connotation of foolishness, poor judgment, or being outmaneuvered, resulting in a zero-sum outcome for the subject.
• It can function descriptively (as an adjective) following a verb like "là" (is), or as a verb phrase itself.

Variants and Related Words

• Trắng tay (adj): to be empty-handed, to have lost everything one had.
  • Cổ phiếu sụp đổ khiến nhiều nhà đầu tư trắng tay. (The stock crash left many investors empty-handed.)
• Mất sạch (v): to lose everything, to be cleaned out (similar in meaning but can be slightly less formal).

Synonyms

• To lose utterly
• To be cleaned out
• To suffer a total wipeout

Related Idioms

• Mất trắng như chơi: To lose everything as easily as in a game; emphasizes the ease and totality of the loss.
  • Dự án thất bại, chúng tôi mất trắng như chơi. (The project failed, and we lost everything just like that.)