as in second
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Recent Examples of second fiddle
That statement was viewed with suspicion by many Republicans who see Rubio not willing to play second fiddle to Vance.
—
Joe Battenfeld, Boston Herald, 13 Jan. 2026
Playing second fiddle to freshman sensation Jazzy Davidson (10 points) and Dunn (11 points), the senior guard couldn’t imprint her mark in Westwood on Saturday, shooting 1-for-9 from the field.
—Benjamin Royer, Daily News, 4 Jan. 2026
So important, that other goals might play second fiddle.
—Hillary Stalker, Nashville Tennessean, 24 Dec. 2025
Unfortunately, similar to the (albeit heartwarming) tale between a restaurant garbage boy and Remy the rat, O’Connor — much like Linguini — was stuck playing second fiddle tonight on SNL, puppeted to and fro from sketch to sketch that sidelined his comedic talents.
—Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 13 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for second fiddle
Joe Battenfeld, Boston Herald, 13 Jan. 2026
Playing second fiddle to freshman sensation Jazzy Davidson (10 points) and Dunn (11 points), the senior guard couldn’t imprint her mark in Westwood on Saturday, shooting 1-for-9 from the field.
—Benjamin Royer, Daily News, 4 Jan. 2026
So important, that other goals might play second fiddle.
—Hillary Stalker, Nashville Tennessean, 24 Dec. 2025
Unfortunately, similar to the (albeit heartwarming) tale between a restaurant garbage boy and Remy the rat, O’Connor — much like Linguini — was stuck playing second fiddle tonight on SNL, puppeted to and fro from sketch to sketch that sidelined his comedic talents.
—Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 13 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for second fiddle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for second fiddle
Noun
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The company shared a glimpse of what’s coming through a 39-second YouTube video, announcing its entry into the physical AI hardware space beyond mobile phones.—
Atharva Gosavi,
Interesting Engineering,
24 Feb. 2026
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The second focuses on inclusion with companies committing to strengthening testing and evaluation of AI systems across underrepresented languages and cultural contexts, especially in the Global South, so that frontier AI models become more reliable and accessible beyond English‑speaking markets.—
Beatrice Nolan,
Fortune,
23 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Kelly might well have wondered when Pinheiro was sent to the screen by video assistant referee Tomasz Kwiatkowski whether his second booking was about to be overturned.—
Steve Madeley,
New York Times,
27 Feb. 2026
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Similar to what was depicted in Love Story, his former assistant RoseMarie Terenzio revealed that Kennedy took Bessette out on a fishing boat to pop the question.—
Shelby Wax,
Vogue,
27 Feb. 2026
Noun
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With thousands of families afraid to leave their homes and with no source of income, mutual aid networks, large and small, ramped up to offer everything from food delivery to rent assistance to laundry service.—
Nick Woltman,
Twin Cities,
22 Feb. 2026
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Chesterton Fire provided mutual aid and the Porter County Sheriff’s Department also assisted.—
Post-Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
22 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
An aide flashed the overhead lights on and off at random.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
24 Feb. 2026
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An aide was directed to recommend to the president who should skip events when all possible successors were together outside the White House.—
Will Weissert,
Chicago Tribune,
24 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The first deputy arrived within about three minutes and shot the suspect, who was pronounced dead at the scene, said officer Shelbie Boyd, a spokesperson for the Pierce County Force Investigation Team.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
26 Feb. 2026
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As Shah Alam’s discharge from jail was being processed, deputies notified US Border Patrol, which had earlier placed him under an immigration detainer, the Erie County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.—
Hanna Park,
CNN Money,
26 Feb. 2026
Noun
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At the time, there were an estimated 450 greater adjutant storks left in the region.—
Kyla Mandel,
TIME,
20 Feb. 2025
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Since 2019, when Woodward took over as the Gooding adjutant, that totals more than $23,000, according to an accounting obtained by the Statesman from the county clerk through a public records request.—
Kevin Fixler,
Idaho Statesman,
13 July 2024
Noun
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Schnurr came to Cincinnati in 2008 as coadjutor archbishop and took over as archbishop about a year later, upon the retirement of former Archbishop Daniel Pilarczyk.—
Dan Horn,
The Enquirer,
2 July 2025
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By 1997, he was named coadjutor archbishop of Buenos Aires, assuming full leadership of the archdiocese the following year.—
Josh Hammer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Second fiddle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/second%20fiddle. Accessed 1 Mar. 2026.
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