runner-up

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.

He also was runner-up in 2019 and 2023, and finished third in 2024 in addition to 2025.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 30, 2026

A year earlier Scheffler won at Bay Hill, the Players and added a runner-up finish in Houston.

From BBC • Mar. 23, 2026

In 2003, he showed up as a guest judge on the second season of “American Idol,” declaring its runner-up Clay Aiken was “ear delicious.”

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 27, 2026

Alex Marquez finished last season as runner-up and he could well challenge his brother for the title again in a field packed with talent.

From Barron's • Feb. 25, 2026

On the corner of Sterling and Commonwealth was the old Masonic Temple, where one Saturday afternoon thirty-five years before, Milton had been runner-up in a spelling bee.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides