loser

noun

los·​er ˈlü-zər How to pronounce loser (audio)
1
: a person or thing that loses especially consistently
The team had a reputation for being a loser year after year.
2
: a person who is incompetent or unable to succeed
Don't waste your time on that loser.
also : something doomed to fail or disappoint
his position is a loser politically Fred Barnes

Examples of loser in a Sentence

The team had a reputation for being a loser year after year. The loser of the bet has to buy drinks for the winner. Whoever benefits from the new government programs, the real loser will be the American taxpayer. That guy is a born loser.
Recent Examples on the Web Here is a look at the winners and losers of the night. USA TODAY, 6 Mar. 2024 This time around, the loser will be just that — now, and forevermore. Charles C. W. Cooke, National Review, 5 Mar. 2024 Voting isn’t merely a zero-sum game that ends with the winners crowing over their victory and the losers slinking away in defeat. Robin Givhan, Washington Post, 5 Mar. 2024 Ravu were the losers, with Jessica being the biggest loser of all. Dalton Ross, EW.com, 29 Feb. 2024 That’s why Fortune has compiled a list, further below, that is showing the early winners and losers from that year. Luisa Beltran, Fortune, 28 Feb. 2024 Apple stock is down 2%, but the big loser of the bunch continues to be Tesla, whose shares have sunk by more than a fifth since the end of 2023. Morgan Haefner, Quartz, 16 Feb. 2024 If the measure of success is survival, even the fittest members of a flourishing species are losers in the long run. Robert Pogue Harrison, The New York Review of Books, 15 Feb. 2024 That is why the Horned Frogs top the biggest winners and losers on the bubble this Saturday. Jordan Mendoza, USA TODAY, 22 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'loser.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1548, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of loser was in 1548

Dictionary Entries Near loser

Cite this Entry

“Loser.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/loser. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

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