noun
dropout; straggler; outcast; failure
Refers to a person who has fallen behind or dropped out from a group, competition, or society; can be used literally (e.g., in a race) or figuratively (e.g., social dropout).
マラソンで落伍者が出た。
There were stragglers in the marathon.
彼は会社の競争に負けて落伍者になった。
He lost out in the company competition and became a dropout.
脱落者 also means 'dropout' but emphasizes falling away from a group or standard, often used in educational or organizational contexts. 落伍者 carries a stronger nuance of being left behind or failing to keep up.
負け組 is a colloquial term for 'losers' in a competitive sense, often used in social or economic contexts. 落伍者 is more formal and can imply a person who has been left behind rather than simply losing.
Compound of 落伍 (rakugo, 'dropping out' or 'falling behind') + 者 (sha, 'person'). 落伍 itself is from 落 (raku, 'fall') and 伍 (go, 'group of five' or 'rank'), originally referring to falling out of formation in a military context.