loser

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los·er

(lo͞o′zər)

a. One that fails to win: the losers of the game.

b. A person who takes loss in a specified way: a graceful loser; a poor loser.

a. A person who is unable to be successful on a sustained basis: His mother considers his friends to be a bunch of losers.

b. One that loses opportunities or advantages: The losers in the latest round of budget cuts included retirees and pensioners.

c. One that is bad in quality: That book is a real loser.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

loser

(ˈluːzə)

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) bridge a card that will not take a trick

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

los•er

(ˈlu zər)

n.

1. a person or group that loses.

a. a person who has failed significantly at something: a loser at marriage.

b. one that disappoints.

3. Slang. misfit (def. 3).

[1300–50]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	loser - a contestant who loses the contest also-ran contestant - a person who participates in competitions old maid - the loser in a game of old maid winner, victor - the contestant who wins the contest
	2.	loser - a person with a record of failing; someone who loses consistently nonstarter, unsuccessful person, failure unfortunate, unfortunate person - a person who suffers misfortune bankrupt, insolvent - someone who has insufficient assets to cover their debts flash in the pan - someone who enjoys transient success but then fails dud, flop, washout - someone who is unsuccessful underdog - one at a disadvantage and expected to lose achiever, succeeder, winner, success - a person with a record of successes; "his son would never be the achiever that his father was"; "only winners need apply"; "if you want to be a success you have to dress like a success"
	3.	loser - a gambler who loses a bet gambler - a person who wagers money on the outcome of games or sporting events winner - a gambler who wins a bet

loser

noun failure, flop (informal), underdog, also-ran, no-hoper (Austral. slang), dud (informal), lemon (slang), clinker (slang, chiefly U.S.), washout (informal), non-achiever, LZ (S.M.S.) the winners and losers of this year's Super Bowl

Quotations
"Show me a good loser and I will show you a loser" [Paul Newman]

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

loser

noun

1. One that fails completely:

bust, failure, fiasco, washout.

Informal: dud, flop, lemon.

Slang: bomb.

2. A person living under very unhappy circumstances:

miserable, underdog, underprivileged, unfortunate, wretch.

Translations

خَاسِرٌخاسِرفاشل

poražený-á

taber

Verlierer Versager Flasche Lusche Null

χαμένος

perdedor

häviäjäluuseriepäonnistuja

perdant

gubitnik

vesztes

sá sem tapar

perdente

敗者

잃은 사람

premaganec

förlorare

ผู้แพ้

mağlup/kaybeden kimseyenilmiş

người thua cuộc

输者

loser

[ˈluːzəʳ] N (= person) → perdedor(a) m/f; (= card) → carta f perdedora
he's a born loser → siempre sale perdiendo, es un perdedor nato
to be a bad loser → no saber perder, tener mal perder
to be a good loser → saber perder, tener buen perder
to come off the loser → salir perdiendo

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

loser

[ˈluːzə^r] n

(in game, contest) → perdant(e) m/f
to be a good loser → être beau joueur m, être bon perdant (bonne)(e)m/f
to be a bad loser → être mauvais(e) joueur/euse m/f, être mauvais(e) perdant(e) m/f

(= failure) → raté(e) m/f, loser m
He's such a loser! → Quel raté celui-là!, C'est un vrai loser!

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

loser

n → Verlierer(in) m(f); he is a good/bad loser → er ist ein guter/schlechter Verlierer; he’s a born loser → er ist der geborene Verlierer; what a loser! (inf) → was für eine Null! (inf)

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

loser

[ˈluːzəʳ] n → perdente m/f
he's a born loser → è un perdente nato
to be a good/bad loser → saper/non saper perdere

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

lose

(luːz) – past tense, past participle lost (lost) – verb

1. to stop having; to have no longer. She has lost interest in her work; I have lost my watch; He lost hold of the rope.

2. to have taken away from one (by death, accident etc). She lost her father last year; The ship was lost in the storm; He has lost his job.

3. to put (something) where it cannot be found. My secretary has lost your letter.

4. not to win. I always lose at cards; She lost the race.

5. to waste or use more (time) than is necessary. He lost no time in informing the police of the crime.

ˈloser noun

a person who loses. The losers congratulated the winners.

loss (los) noun

1. the act or fact of losing. suffering from loss of memory; the loss (= death) of our friend.

2. something which is lost. It was only after he was dead that we realized what a loss he was.

3. the amount (especially of money) which is lost. a loss of 500 pounds.

lost adjective

1. missing; no longer to be found. a lost ticket.

2. not won. The game is lost.

3. wasted; not used properly. a lost opportunity.

4. no longer knowing where one is, or in which direction to go. I don't know whether to turn left or right – I'm lost.

at a loss

not knowing what to do, say etc. He was at a loss for words to express his gratitude.

a bad/good loser

someone who behaves badly or well when he loses a game etc.

lose oneself in

to have all one's attention taken up by. to lose oneself in a book.

lose one's memory

to stop being able to remember things.

lose out

to suffer loss or be at a disadvantage.

lost in

having one's attention wholly taken up by. She was lost in thought.

lost on

wasted, having no effect, on. The joke was lost on her.

to lose (not loose) the match.

loser

→ خَاسِرٌ poražený taber Verlierer χαμένος perdedor häviäjä perdant gubitnik perdente 敗者 잃은 사람 verliezer taper nieudacznik perdedor проигравший (игрок) förlorare ผู้แพ้ yenilmiş người thua cuộc 输者

References in classic literature ?

He risked everything for everything, and anything less than everything meant that he was a loser. So for twelve Yukon years, Elam Harnish had been a loser.

View in context

He was a bad winner and a good loser. Those who think that a man betrays his character nowhere more clearly than when he is playing a game might on this draw subtle inferences.

View in context

He was an inveterate gambler, though a poor loser. When we saw a light burning in his office late at night, we knew that a game of poker was going on.

View in context

My eyes were upon the loser of this duel when he got his last and vanquishing wound--it was in his face and it carried away his--but no matter, I must not enter into details.

View in context

I can bear the reproaches of a loser, even when that loser is a Jew.

View in context

Let us go home, and give over going about in search of adventures in strange lands and places; rightly looked at, it is I that am the greater loser, though it is your worship that has had the worse usage.

View in context

Can love, which always seeks the good of its object, attempt to betray a woman into a bargain where she is so greatly to be the loser? If such corrupter, therefore, should have the impudence to pretend a real affection for her, ought not the woman to regard him not only as an enemy, but as the worst of all enemies, a false, designing, treacherous, pretended friend, who intends not only to debauch her body, but her understanding at the same time?"

View in context

That prince would have been no loser by the exchange, for so much was I hated by the Abyssinian monks that they would have thought no expense too great to have gotten me into their hands, that they might have glutted their revenge by putting me to the most painful death they could have invented.

View in context

He would scarcely be ten pounds a year the loser by the hundred that was to be paid them; for, what with her board and pocket allowance, and the continual presents in money which passed to her through her mother's hands, Lydia's expenses had been very little within that sum.

View in context

Doing what you propose, I should become the obliged of the king; I should certainly be the gainer on that ground, but I should be a loser in my conscience.

View in context

To keep senators in the interest of the crown, it was proposed that the members should raffle for employment; every man first taking an oath, and giving security, that he would vote for the court, whether he won or not; after which, the losers had, in their turn, the liberty of raffling upon the next vacancy.

View in context

We could, for example, install what the British call "taxing masters" to decide in each case the reasonable fee a loser would pay.