loser

American  

[loo-zer] / ˈlu zər /

noun

• losers
  plural

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. (opposed to 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

Derived Forms

• nonloser
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• losers
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of loser

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

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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

See Examples For:

loser losers

The 17-year-old lost in qualifying for the Hong Kong Open but entered the main draw as a lucky loser.

From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026

Democracy rests on a simple bargain: The loser accepts the result because both sides trust the count.

From Salon ● Oct. 28, 2026

Financial expert Ramit Sethi would say we fell victim to “one of the biggest myths about money: If you rent, you’re a loser, and buying a house is the best investment.”

From Slate ● Oct. 28, 2026

Next up: Josh Allen and the 3-1 Buffalo Bills, a 29-26 loser Sunday against the New England Patriots.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026

Because—according to Camille, at least—Mom is a selfish loser who ruined our lives.

From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller

Investors have grown more discerning as interest rates rise and the market continues the long, complex and often hair-raising task of sorting artificial-intelligence winners from losers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026

One is his contempt for those he regards as losers, and his determination never to be seen as one.

From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026

A few other primaries even yielded sore losers; in Texas, Rep. Jasmine Crockett has refused to campaign with fellow Democrat James Talarico after he beat her.

From Slate ● Nov. 2, 2026

Elections will create winners and losers in individual industries, but I’d rather own businesses capable of prospering across political cycles than build a portfolio around predicting Washington.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 1, 2026

One of the older kids—who I’d heard called Scorpion—said, “What a bunch of losers these little kids are!”

From "Klawde: Evil Alien Warlord Cat" by Johnny Marciano and Emily Chenoweth

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Related Words

• also-ran
• underdog

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