Runner-up

//ˌɹʌn.ɚˈʌp// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The person who finishes second, or in any position after the first.

    "Remember, if the winner cannot complete the duties, the runner-up will take over."

  2. 2
    the competitor who finishes second wordnet
  3. 3
    Second favourite.

    "For years, Twitter was a runner-up social media company. It never grew to the size and scale of a Facebook or an Instagram. It simply muddled along."

Synonyms

All synonyms
champchampionconquerorheromastersecond best

Example

More examples

"The runner-up was given an honorable mention."

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.