loser
Americannoun
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a person, team, nation, etc., that loses.
The visiting team was the loser in the series.
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Informal.
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a person who has been convicted of a misdemeanor or, especially, a felony.
a two-time loser.
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a person who has failed at a particular activity.
a loser at marriage.
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someone or something that is marked by consistently or thoroughly bad quality, performance, etc. (opposed to winner).
Don't bother to see that film, it's a real loser.
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Slang. a misfit, especially someone who has never or seldom been successful at a job, personal relationship, etc.
noun
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a person or thing that loses
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a person or thing that seems destined to be taken advantage of, fail, etc
a born loser
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bridge a card that will not take a trick
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of loser
Explanation
A loser is the team or person that did not win or succeed. In pond hockey, the loser has to hose down the ice to make it smooth again. You may have heard loser used to insult someone who has not had a lot of success in life, someone who might not have many friends. This mean slang took root in the 1950s but it wasn't until the 1990s that kids who loved indie rock reclaimed it as an anti-hero badge of honor, wearing t-shirts with "Loser" written in huge letters across the front. This ironic gesture was meant to show the jocks who the real cool kids were.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
According to the great book "Lucky Loser" by Russ Buettner and Susanne Craig, he failed in that job but not by being belligerent and abusive, as you might imagine.
From Salon • May 28, 2025
In the 90s and 00s, they filled the pages of tabloid newspapers, sold celebrity diet regimes and inspired popular TV series like The Biggest Loser, You Are What You Eat and Celebrity Fit Club.
From BBC • Mar. 8, 2025
Loser: UCLA: It’s Year 7 for coach Chip Kelly, but the first recruiting cycle for the Bruins as a member of the Big Ten.
From Seattle Times • Dec. 25, 2023
Roberts says that some of this perception may trace to a study of a few participants in NBC’s reality TV show The Biggest Loser, which began in 2004 and ran for 12 years.
From Scientific American • Jun. 14, 2023
But if Winner Lane could hardly be expected to fail, could Loser Lane possibly succeed?
From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
