second-best

1 of 3

adjective

sec·​ond-best ˌse-kən(d)-ˈbest 

-kᵊŋ-

: next to the best

second best

2 of 3

noun

: one that is below or after the best

second best

3 of 3

adverb

: in second place

Examples of second-best in a Sentence

Noun

He won't settle for second best.

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Erling Haaland had his second-best season in a Manchester City shirt in 2025-26, scoring 27 times in the Premier League. — Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026

Through two seasons, Macdonald is 15-2 on the road, the second-best record all time for a coach in his first two seasons, behind only George Seifert. — Andy Scholes, CNN Money, 9 Sep. 2026

Noun

April is historically the second best performing month for the S & P 500 and only trails behind November, according to the Stock Trader’s Almanac. — Itzel Franco, CNBC, 31 Mar. 2026

Surprisingly, the control group that received just water was doing second best, with the stems still standing stiff and only the outer petals showing a few signs of wilting. — Tessa Cooper, The Spruce, 13 Feb. 2026

Adverb

In 2023, Florida slipped to second best, partly due to high health care costs, behind Virginia. — Medora Lee, USA Today, 31 Aug. 2026

That's the second best-performing sector of the year behind energy, which has soared 34%. — Fred Imbert, CNBC, 11 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1647, in the meaning defined above

Adverb

1777, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for second-best

• acquiesced
• coalesced
• dispossessed
• manifest
• overdressed
• overstressed
• prepossessed
• reassessed
• reinvest
• repossessed
• unaddressed
• uncompressed

Kids Definition

second-best

adjective

: next to the best