loser

[loo-zer]

noun

1. a person, team, nation, etc., that loses.

   The visiting team was the loser in the series.

2. Informal.

   1. a person who has been convicted of a misdemeanor or, especially, a felony.

      a two-time loser.

   2. a person who has failed at a particular activity.

      a loser at marriage.

   3. someone or something that is marked by consistently or thoroughly bad quality, performance, etc. (winner ).

      Don't bother to see that film, it's a real loser.

3. Slang.,  a misfit, especially someone who has never or seldom been successful at a job, personal relationship, etc.

loser

/ ˈluːzə /

noun

1. a person or thing that loses

2. a person or thing that seems destined to be taken advantage of, fail, etc

   a born loser

3. bridge a card that will not take a trick

Other Word Forms

• nonloser noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of loser¹

1300–50; Middle English losere destroyer; lose, -er ¹

Idioms and Phrases

see under finders, keepers.

Example Sentences

The next 18 to 24 months will separate the winners and losers.

Read more on MarketWatch

Billups is charged with taking part in rigged poker games and using his fame to lure other players into the games, where high-tech cheating methods were used to ensure they were losers.

Read more on Barron's

In fact, 16% of the Russell 3000 members are still south of their April trough, and below is a table of losers by sector.

Read more on MarketWatch

But the big loser has been the lover of nonfiction history, as the founding era became a subject conscripted into a turf war over important moral and factual issues.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

What Mamdani’s surprising campaign — and his likely victory — have shown us is that we still have moral choices to make, and that courage isn’t just for losers.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• also-ran 
• underdog