runner-up

[ ruhn-er-uhp ]

See synonyms for: runner-up runners-up on Thesaurus.com

noun,plural run·ners-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

First recorded in 1835–45

Words 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 BEAST
runner-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 BEAST
You could, I suppose, broaden the definition of “runner-up” to include Romney.
The Most Annoying Myth in Politics | Jamelle Bouie | February 24, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
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 BEAST
The book finished runner-up for the Pulitzer Prize in 1960, second to Cry the Beloved Country.
Rick Bass: The Best Books ’Bout Texas | Rick Bass | September 17, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST

I won one once—runner-up in the fifth flight over at San Gabriel.
Fore! | Charles Emmett Van Loan
However, as a traitor, I'm not even a runner-up with your father.
The Pride of Palomar | Peter B. Kyne
To be runner-up two years in succession stimulates the desire for the first place.
Love Among the Chickens | P. G. Wodehouse
But 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 Vardon
Drummond 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

runner-up

nounplural runners-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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