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definitions

loser

[ loo-zer ]
/ ˈlu zər /
|
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR loser ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a person, team, nation, etc., that loses: The visiting team was the loser in the series.
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.: Don't bother to see that film, it's a real loser.
Slang. a misfit, especially someone who has never or seldom been successful at a job, personal relationship, etc.

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RELATED WORDS

also-ran, underdog, deadbeat, flop, dud, defeated, failure, has-been, disadvantaged, underprivileged, down-and-outer

Nearby words

  1. lose the thread,
  2. lose time,
  3. lose touch,
  4. lose track,
  5. losel,
  6. losey,
  7. losing,
  8. losing battle, a,
  9. losing hazard,
  10. losingest

Origin of loser

1300–50; Middle English losere destroyer; see lose, -er1
Related formsnon·los·er, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for loser

British Dictionary definitions for loser

loser

/ (ˈluːzə) /

noun

a person or thing that loses
a person or thing that seems destined to be taken advantage of, fail, etca born loser
bridge a card that will not take a trick
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for loser

loser

n.

mid-14c., "a destroyer," agent noun from lose (v.). Sense of "one who suffers loss" is from 1540s; meaning "horse that loses a race" is from 1902; "convicted criminal" is from 1912; "hapless person" is 1955 student slang.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Idioms and Phrases with loser

loser

see under finders, keepers.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.