out of luck

1. Having bad fortune, experiencing a misfortune, as in You're out of luck if you want a copy; we just sold the last one. This expression, first recorded in 1867, assumes that good fortune is a finite quantity that one can run out of. However, it generally applies to more temporary circumstances than being down on one's luck.

Example Sentences

Depending on your age or your home state, you could be out of luck.

From Los Angeles Times

Students with special needs, as well as those whose families cannot afford to participate, will be out of luck.

From Los Angeles Times

But if Costco isn’t in your weekly orbit, you’re not out of luck.

From Salon

The Royal couple were out of luck with their runner on Tuesday – Reaching High finished ninth in the Ascot Stakes.

From BBC

It certainly seemed that Dexter Morgan, the blood-splatter analyst and serial killer who headlined Showtime’s hugely popular “Dexter,” had finally run out of luck after being shot to death by his son Harrison in the 2022 reboot “Dexter: New Blood.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• adverse 
• damaging 
• deplorable 
• disastrous 
• inappropriate 
• inauspicious 
• lamentable 
• regrettable 
• unlucky 
• untoward