luckless

American

[luhk-lis] / ˈlʌk lɪs /

adjective

having no luck; unfortunate; hapless; ill-fated; turning out or ending disastrously.

a luckless venture that ruined many of the investors.

luckless British

/ ˈlʌklɪs /

adjective

having no luck; unlucky

"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

Other Word Forms

lucklessly adverb
lucklessness noun

Etymology

Origin of luckless

First recorded in 1555–65; luck + -less

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.

"McLaren helped us today," he joked, referring to the opening lap crash in the sprint which saw Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg hit Piastri's McLaren and push him into the luckless Norris.

From Barron's • Oct. 18, 2025

Being luckless in love is commonplace these days.

From Salon • Sep. 14, 2025

Co-written by Gilliam and Michael Palin, with appearances by Palin as a luckless dweeb through the ages and John Cleese as a posh Robin Hood, “Time Bandits,” the film, was very much a Python work.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 24, 2024

Gathering routine genre elements — the masked predator, the luckless teenage victims, the cabin-in-the-woods setting — Nash subordinates them all to a mood of stunning serenity.

From New York Times • May 30, 2024

I decided one day in the middle of an algebraic equation to change my luckless life by changing my hands.

From "Jacob Have I Loved" by Katherine Paterson

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023