Second Best (Noun)
Meaning
The competitor who finishes second.
Classification
Nouns denoting people.
Examples
- Finishing in the runner-up spot meant I was considered second-best.
- Losing by only one point left her with the bittersweet label of second-best.
- Though proud of their progress, they felt demoted to second-best status behind the market leaders.
- Since Tom ran a fraction of a second faster, Jerry settled for second-best at the competition.
- This cycle's contest is repeating a common narrative of small and ambitious restaurants trailing far behind one world-class player - dubbed, ever awkwardly, as being forever doomed as "the eternal second-best."