hard-luck

adjective

ˈhärd-ˌlək How to pronounce hard-luck (audio)
Synonyms of hard-lucknext
: marked by, relating to, or experiencing bad luck or difficulty
another loss for the team's hard-luck pitcher
hard-luck stories

Synonyms of hard-luck

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of hard-luck in a Sentence

a hard-luck ball club that never could get the breaks it needed
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.
The hard-luck righty is 0-8 in 12 starts since June 12, in part because the Orioles have provided him only 15 runs of support in those dozen outings. — ABC News, 23 Aug. 2026 Fox closed with four birdies over his last six holes — and one bogey that felt equally important — for a 2-under 68 and a one-shot victory over hard-luck Cameron Young for his first major title. — Doug Ferguson, Chicago Tribune, 19 July 2026 All the usual fun Indy stuff is here – Nazis, treasured artifacts – though the bantering chemistry between Ford's hard-luck hero and Sean Connery as his grumpy dad is off-the-hook spectacular. — Brian Truitt, USA Today, 13 June 2026 For The Times) Boosted by a massive influx of cash from rental giant Airbnb, some of McKinney’s ads played up his hard-luck upbringing in one of New Jersey’s most violent cities. — Sonja Sharp, Los Angeles Times, 5 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for hard-luck

Word History

First Known Use

1890, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of hard-luck was in 1890

Rhymes for hard-luck

See All Rhymes for hard-luck

Browse Nearby Words

hard liver
hard-luck
hardly
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Hard-luck.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hard-luck. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

hard-luck

adjective
ˈhärd-ˌlək
: marked by, relating to, or experiencing bad luck
hard-luck stories
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Why does English have so many silent letters?

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
skateboard-dog-hat
Wordmaxxing Slang Quiz Give your vocabulary a glow up by getting sendy w...
See All