runner-up

[ ruhn-er-uhp ]

noun

, plural run·ners-up.

1. the competitor, player, or team finishing in second place, as in a race, contest, or tournament.
2. 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.

runner-up

noun

1. a contestant finishing a race or competition in second place

Word History and Origins

Origin of runner-up¹

First recorded in 1835–45

Example Sentences

“I put on a dress and walked down, and ended up getting first runner-up,” she recalls.

From The Daily Beast

Runner-Up: Pauline Etienne, Eden I could not take my eyes off this immensely talented Belgian actress.

From The Daily Beast

You could, I suppose, broaden the definition of “runner-up” to include Romney.

From The Daily Beast

Also on stage was runner-up Crystal Lee, a Chinese-American and Miss California 2013.

From The Daily Beast

The book finished runner-up for the Pulitzer Prize in 1960, second to Cry the Beloved Country.

From The Daily Beast

I won one once—runner-up in the fifth flight over at San Gabriel.

From Project Gutenberg

However, as a traitor, I'm not even a runner-up with your father.

From Project Gutenberg

To be runner-up two years in succession stimulates the desire for the first place.

From Project Gutenberg

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.

From Project Gutenberg

Drummond would have been almost a certainty for a silver medal, and Stanning would probably have been a runner-up.

From Project Gutenberg