runner-up
[ruhn-er-uhp]
- 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.
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Origin of runner-up
First recorded in 1835–45
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for runners-up
Contemporary Examples
Winners will be rewarded $300,000 and a collaboration with J.Crew, and the two runners-up will receive $100,000.
CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Finalists Announced; Beyoncé Wears Nothing But GlitterThe Fashion Beast Team
July 11, 2013
Runners-up for the president include “disappointing,” “weak,” “tired,” and “lost.”
One of the runners-up in the Person of the Year award by the industry website IWantMedia.com was The Laid-Off Journalist.
These runners-up chose a more modern style, rather than the crowd-pleasing Vitamin D crew.
Historical Examples
The others began chorusing their congratulations at once, looking no more convincing than the runners-up in any beauty contest.
Pagan PassionsGordon Randall Garrett
Taken objectively there isn't that much difference between myself and the ten runners-up.
Sense of ObligationHenry Maxwell Dempsey (AKA Harry Harrison)
As was expected, Buller's easily beat all the outhouses, with Claremont's house as runners-up.
The Loom of YouthAlec Waugh
runner-up
- a contestant finishing a race or competition in second place
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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
Word Origin and History for runners-up
runner-up
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper