second only to

idiom

: only less important than (something or someone)

Rice is second only to corn as the state's major crop.

Examples of second only to in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The actor said at the time that filming the scene was second only to childbirth as the worst day of her life. —Zack Sharf, Variety, 3 Apr. 2024

Since October, the number of Chinese migrants encountered by border authorities is second only to Colombia (28,000). —Louis Casiano, Fox News, 3 Apr. 2024

To experts’ surprise, the number of respondents who were identified as having more than one race was second only to the number who identified as white. —Michael Wines, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2024

But Richmond was also a bustling market for human chattel, second only to New Orleans, with thousands of Black men, women and children auctioned off every year. —Gregory S. Schneider, Washington Post, 28 Feb. 2024

The country was second only to China in the number of children being sent abroad, yet Guatemala had a population of about thirteen and a half million people, roughly one one-hundredth of China’s. —John Washington, Harper's Magazine, 26 Feb. 2024

Reid’s 25 career playoff wins are second only to Belichick’s 31. —Cam Inman, The Mercury News, 11 Feb. 2024

Burnes has 677 strikeouts over the past three years, second only to the Yankees' Gerrit Cole in that stretch. —Bob Nightengale, USA TODAY, 2 Feb. 2024

His 189 total assists this season are second only to Sacramento's Malik Monk among NBA bench players. —Dustin Dopirak, The Indianapolis Star, 30 Jan. 2024