loser

American  

[loo-zer] / ˈlu zər /

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.

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loser British  

/ 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

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loser Idioms  

1. see under finders, keepers.

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Other Word Forms

• nonloser noun

Etymology

Origin of loser

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

Example Sentences

The loser of that race, Jefferson Griffin said, Yeah, the rules that were in place at the time, they shouldn’t have been the rules.

From Slate • Mar. 30, 2026

The differences won’t be night or a clear winner or loser.

From Salon • Mar. 27, 2026

Iran suffers from the energy disruption too, but the biggest loser may be China, which buys more Qatari gas and Gulf oil than anyone.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 2, 2026

The market seems to designate a new loser of AI every day.

From Barron's • Feb. 23, 2026

Because if we were all supposed to carbon-copy our parents, then I’d end up a brain-fried loser who runs away with a foot doctor, or a downtrodden Zen calculator.

From "Please Ignore Vera Dietz" by A.S. King

Related Words

• also-ran
• underdog