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Synonyms

runner-up

American  
[ruhn-er-uhp] / ˈrʌn ərˈʌp /

noun

plural

runners-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 British  

noun

  1. 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

Etymology

Origin of runner-up

First recorded in 1835–45

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

"It sometimes does feel like the governing bodies don't get along so well," Zverev, who was runner-up at Melbourne Park last year, said.

From BBC

Price was last year's runner-up in Bahrain after beating Littler in the semi-finals.

From BBC

But Wilson, the 2024 world champion and 2025 Masters runner-up, has found a new cue which he has been using for a month and looked happy, confident and rejuvenated at Alexandra Palace.

From BBC

Three-time Australian Open runner-up Daniil Medvedev will be an underdog at the opening Grand Slam of the year, but the Russian warned he will be hard to beat in his current form.

From Barron's

Nigeria were runners-up at the last Cup of Nations in 2024.

From Barron's

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.