lowlife
Americannoun
-
lowlifes
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of lowlife
Explanation
A lowlife is a no-good bum or a criminal, someone who deserves contempt. A car thief and a cruel bully could both be described as lowlifes. Calling someone a lowlife is an insult — a lowlife has a terrible, mean or criminal reputation. You should probably save this word for the worst of the worst, like animal abusers and scam artists who steal money from elderly people. Lowlife started out as an adjective meaning "disreputable," and began to also mean "no-good person" in the early part of the 20th century.
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.
See Examples For:
Frank is a lowlife antihero for the ages.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 14, 2026
“My son Jonathan was a thousand times more of a man than this lowlife could ever even dream of being,” Justine Amerault said.
From Washington Times ● May 27, 2022
"I want every bounty hunter and lowlife to squeeze him," she says of Obi-Wan in one shot.
From Salon ● May 5, 2022
“American Buffalo” is a heist comedy about three small-time criminals hoping to steal a possibly valuable nickel, but its also a no-holds-barred portrait of lowlife desperation and greed.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 8, 2021
“My stunning resemblance to that lowlife O’Doyle is but one result of Petey’s curse, and perhaps the least of them. You shall see.”
From "The Last Last-Day-of-Summer" by Lamar Giles
In the words of Damon Runyon, the bard of gambling lowlifes, “Mr. Bert Bell does not get out of bed in time for daylight games.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
As is the case in these mysteries, the upstanding citizens are propped up by a whole lot of lowlifes, but few as fearsome as Scott Shepherd’s chilly construction manager, Allen Murphy.
From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2025
When word gets out that he’s looking to cash out of the business, it soon triggers an array of plots and schemes from lowlifes who want his domain.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2020
Punch surveys the bleating lowlifes ringed around him on the beach, cheering, laughing, waiting for the next act, but their whoops sound fake, their howls of laughter hollow.
From The New Yorker ● Jul. 18, 2019
Meanwhile Billington pere made merry with other non-Puritan lowlifes and haphazardly plotted against authority.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
