runner-up

noun

run·​ner-up ˈrə-nər-ˌəp 

ˌrə-nər-ˈəp

plural runners-up ˈrə-nərz-ˌəp 

ˌrə-nərz-ˈəp

also runner-ups

: the competitor that does not win first place in a contest

especially : one that finishes in second place

Examples of runner-up in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Jarell Quansah, meanwhile, has just left the club to join Bundesliga runners-up Bayer Leverkusen for an initial £30m, showing that a future elsewhere is possible even if establishing a regular place in the team at Anfield is not forthcoming. —Gregg Evans, New York Times, 25 July 2025

The tournament organizers replaced the Venezuelans with the Santa Maria de Aguayo team from Tamaulipas, Mexico, the team that was a runner-up in the Latin American championship. —Dan Gooding hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 July 2025

Though competition was fierce, the ice cream cookie sandwich edged out the runner-up by just one point. —Elizabeth Fogarty, Better Homes & Gardens, 24 July 2025

At their age, Venus and Serena were trading victory and runner-up speeches in tournament finals. —Merlisa Lawrence Corbett, Forbes.com, 23 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1859, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for runner-up

• buttercup
• backup
• blowup
• breakup
• buildup
• checkup
• cleanup
• holdup
• hookup
• lineup
• lockup
• makeup

Kids Definition

runner-up

noun

run·​ner-up

ˈrən-ə-ˌrəp

plural runners-up

: the competitor in a contest who finishes next to the winner