A loser is someone who loses a game, contest, or competition. Every soccer match has winners and losers. When you play chess, one player wins and the other is the loser. There's nothing shameful about being a loser in this basic sense: someone has to lose, and losing can help people learn and improve.

Unfortunately, people sometimes use “loser” as a cruel insult, calling someone a loser to suggest they're unsuccessful or worthless at life in general. This is both mean and inaccurate. Everyone loses sometimes. Abraham Lincoln lost several elections before becoming president. Michael Jordan didn't make his high school varsity basketball team at first. Walt Disney's first animation company went bankrupt.

People often care more about what someone does after losing than about the loss itself. A gracious loser congratulates the winner, learns from defeat, and comes back stronger.

When someone calls another person a “loser” as an insult, they're usually trying to make themselves feel superior by putting someone else down, and it can really hurt.