lowlife

noun

low·​life ˈlō-ˌlīf How to pronounce lowlife (audio)
plural lowlifes ˈlō-ˌlīfs How to pronounce lowlife (audio) also lowlives ˈlō-ˌlīvz How to pronounce lowlife (audio)
1
: a person of low social status
2
: a person of low moral character
low-life adjective

Examples of lowlife in a Sentence

hanging around with a bunch of lowlifes
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Trump represents a father figure who is returning to the house, and there are various people living in it who are freeloaders and grifters and lowlifes abusing the kingdom. Antonia Hitchens, New Yorker, 21 Apr. 2025 The groper was a lowlife—a deranged doctor, bent on harvesting astronaut semen for pernicious procreative ends. Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 28 Feb. 2025 That’s where detective Kang Dong-woo, played by Jo Woo-jin, searches for his teen daughter and ultimately enlists help from the lowlife fixer Yoon Gil-ho, played by Ji Chang-wook. Joan MacDonald, Forbes, 20 Dec. 2024 For the mom and the daughter and the civil jury sitting in judgment, that his accusations brought harassment and threats by pro-Trump lowlifes to their front door was the last straw. Dan Perry, Newsweek, 18 Dec. 2024 See All Example Sentences for lowlife

Word History

First Known Use

1902, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of lowlife was in 1902

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Cite this Entry

“Lowlife.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lowlife. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.

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