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• second best
  second best

  noun

  the next to the best in performance, achievement, craftsmanship, etc.
• second-best
  second-best

  adjective

  next to the best

second best

American  

noun

1. the next to the best in performance, achievement, craftsmanship, etc.

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second-best British  

adjective

1. next to the best

2. informal to be defeated in competition

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noun

1. an inferior alternative

second best Idioms  

1. Also, second class. Next after the first in rank or quality, inferior to the best, as in We aren't satisfied with being second best in sales, or This hotel is obviously second class. The first term dates from the first half of the 1400s, the variant from about 1800. Also see come off, def. 2; second class.

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Other Word Forms

• second-best
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of second best

late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

second best second-best

Having been second best, the five-time world champions suddenly had momentum.

From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2026

“Chad, the best time to have dropped out would have been a couple of weeks ago, but the second best time is right now.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 3, 2026

Leo Cullen's side lost by a score to La Rochelle in 2022 and 2023 and took Toulouse to extra time in 2024, but they were comfortably second best to Bordeaux in the Bilbao heat.

From BBC ● May 23, 2026

South Korean stocks just registered their second best month ever and has overtaken one of the largest stock markets in the world.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 30, 2026

Good, I thought, because I shouldn’t settle for second best.

From "Lawn Boy Returns" by Gary Paulsen

Since beginning 2026 with a dominant indoor season in which she won world indoor gold and broke the indoor 800m world record, Hodgkinson has been second-best in meetings with Werro.

From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026

That, combined with an announcement about the company’s Terafab chip-making project, cleared the way for the stock to see its second-best day on record Friday.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026

The Sky’s 53% from the field was their second-best shooting percentage of the season.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

Netflix's "Beef" topped the nominations among the limited series contenders with 16, and the streaming giant was second-best overall with 111 nods.

From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026

He could not think of an argument against it; after all, McLaggen had certainly performed second-best in the trials.

From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling