silver medal

American  

noun

silver medals plural

1. a medal, traditionally of silver or silver in color, awarded to a person or team finishing second in a competition, meet, or tournament.

---

silver medal British  

noun

1. a medal of silver awarded to a competitor who comes second in a contest or race Compare gold medal bronze medal

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• silver medalist
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• silver medals
  plural

Example Sentences

Quick won a silver medal as a backup goaltender for the U.S. at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, although he did not see any playing time.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 13, 2026

They showed no sign of rust when they returned at the 2023 Asian Games in China's Hangzhou, taking the silver medal after losing in the final to Japan.

From Barron's • Feb. 26, 2026

You see it in surprises like Ben Ogden’s silver medal romp in cross-country, the best U.S. men’s performance in 50 years.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 23, 2026

She did just, posting 93.00, the highest score of the second run and one that catapulted her up the standings into silver medal position.

From BBC • Feb. 16, 2026

Keeth had led the US men’s saber team to a silver medal in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and was arguably the best US male saber fencer of all time.

From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad