runner-up
the competitor, player, or team finishing in second place, as in a race, contest, or tournament.
runners-up, the competitors who do not win a contest but who place ahead of the majority of the contestants and share in prizes or honors, as those who place second, third, and fourth, or in the top ten.
Origin of runner-up
1Words Nearby runner-up
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use runner-up in a sentence
“I put on a dress and walked down, and ended up getting first runner-up,” she recalls.
The Making of Kiesza: From Navy Sharpshooter to Beauty Queen to Pop Diva | Marlow Stern | October 20, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTrunner-up: Pauline Etienne, Eden I could not take my eyes off this immensely talented Belgian actress.
Oscar Season Kicks Off in Toronto: Channing Tatum, Kristen Stewart, and More Court Awards Glory | Marlow Stern | September 14, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTYou could, I suppose, broaden the definition of “runner-up” to include Romney.
Also on stage was runner-up Crystal Lee, a Chinese-American and Miss California 2013.
Changing Western Beauty Ideals: Nina Davuluri and Julie Chen | Soraya Roberts | September 25, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTThe book finished runner-up for the Pulitzer Prize in 1960, second to Cry the Beloved Country.
I won one once—runner-up in the fifth flight over at San Gabriel.
Fore! | Charles Emmett Van LoanHowever, as a traitor, I'm not even a runner-up with your father.
The Pride of Palomar | Peter B. KyneTo be runner-up two years in succession stimulates the desire for the first place.
Love Among the Chickens | P. G. WodehouseBut in the final, Herd defeated me on the last green, and so I had to be content with the prize given for runner-up.
The Complete Golfer [1905] | Harry VardonDrummond would have been almost a certainty for a silver medal, and Stanning would probably have been a runner-up.
The White Feather | P. G. Wodehouse
British Dictionary definitions for runner-up
a contestant finishing a race or competition in second place
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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