also-ran

[awl-soh-ran]

noun

1. Sports.

   1. (in a race) a contestant who fails to win or to place among the first three finishers.

   2. an athlete or team whose performance in competition is rarely, if ever, a winning or near-winning one.

2. Informal.,  a person who loses a contest, election, or other competition.

3. Informal.,  a person who attains little or no success.

   For every great artist there are a thousand also-rans.

also-ran

noun

1. a contestant, horse, etc, failing to finish among the first three in a race

2. an unsuccessful person; loser or nonentity

Word History and Origins

Origin of also-ran¹

First recorded in 1895–1900

Idioms and Phrases

Loser, failure, unsuccessful individual, as in Jane feared that her candidate, a terrible speaker, would end up as an also-ran, or As for getting promotions, Mark counted himself among the also-rans. This term comes from racing, where it describes a horse that finishes in fourth place or lower or does not finish a race at all. It first appeared in the 1890s in published racing results, and has since been transferred to losers in any kind of competition, and also more broadly to persons who simply don't do well.

Related Words

• loser