Unlucky means having or experiencing bad luck, when unfortunate things happen that aren't your fault. If you study hard for a spelling bee but get eliminated on an unusually difficult word, that's unlucky. When rain cancels your long-awaited field trip, that's unlucky too.

Being unlucky is different from making poor choices. If you forget to study and fail a test, that's not unlucky, that's being unprepared. But if you prepare thoroughly and then catch the flu the morning of your big presentation, that's unlucky. The difference is control: unlucky events happen despite your best efforts.

Some people call themselves unlucky when random chance goes against them repeatedly. Maybe you always seem to pick the slowest line at the store, or your team draws the toughest opponent in the tournament. While it can feel frustrating, most “unlucky streaks” eventually balance out.

The word can also describe something that people believe brings bad luck, like an unlucky number. In many Western cultures, thirteen is considered unlucky, while in Chinese culture, the number four is thought to be unlucky because it sounds like the word for death.