Out of luck

The phrase “out of luck” means someone is in a bad situation because something bad has happened or they missed out on an opportunity. It’s like saying they’re not lucky in this case, so they end up losing out or not getting something good that could have happened.

For example:

• Shoppers looking for the sale item were out of luck by noon; the store had already sold out.
• Salary workers are out of luck on Leap Years. They have to work the extra day and don’t get paid more.