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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

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Etymology

Origin of second best

late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

second best second-best

By reaching this final England repositioned themselves as the second best team in the world behind Australia.

From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026

Trailing Morocco 1-0 and looking decidedly second best, the five-time world champions got back on level terms thanks to a moment of brilliance by Vinicius on the biggest stage of all.

From BBC ● Jun. 14, 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

They were second best but when you have Lawrence Shankland in your ranks, you have hope.

From BBC ● May 9, 2026

Your father is first among the gods, yet you are always second best - to your Roman comrades, to your Greek friends, even to your family.

From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan

The bank reported its second-best quarter ever for revenues, driven by a boom in its equities business and higher investment-banking fees.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026

Goldman Sachs posted its second-best quarter ever for revenue, while Citigroup reported its best third-quarter revenue in a decade.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026

Ugarte supports the $2.6-billion Convention Center expansion passed by the City Council last year, arguing that the nation’s second-biggest city should have at least the second-best convention center.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

Tesla sold 497,000 EVs in the third quarter of 2025, marking its second-best performance ever on that metric.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 1, 2026

“Duh, ’cause it’s only the second-best job you can have in the class,” Darren said.

From Absolutely Almost by Lisa Graff

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