runner-up

American  

[ruhn-er-uhp] / ˈrʌn ərˈʌp /

noun

runners-up plural

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.

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runner-up British  

noun

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

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• runners-up
  plural

Etymology

Origin of runner-up

First recorded in 1835–45

Explanation

In a competition, the runner-up is usually the person who comes in second place. In the Olympics, an athlete who wins a silver medal can be called a runner-up. In beauty pageants, there are often first, second, and third-place winners, followed by a runner-up. At the state fair, if your pig gets a blue ribbon and your sister's gets a red one, it means your pig won, and your sister's pig was the runner-up. The earliest use of this word, in the 1840s, was in dog racing.

Example Sentences

Right-back Trippier won La Liga with Atletico Madrid in 2020-21 and was a Champions League runner up in 2019 with Tottenham.

From BBC • May 29, 2026

It was also runner up for the Financial Times when it was sold to Japan’s Nikkei in 2015.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 6, 2026

He obtained 84 votes compared to the runner up, Turkish Mustafa Serkan Sabanca, who got 60 votes, Moroccan state news agency MAP said.

From Barron's • Nov. 27, 2025

We do not always recall who came second, but rather like Seve Ballesteros' runner up finish at the 1976 Open to Johnny Miller, we will not forget Ludvig Aberg's challenge last Sunday.

From BBC • Apr. 15, 2024

Just went out there, looked every other runner up and down, then took her place in lane three.

From "Patina" by Jason Reynolds

Related Words

• double