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

When full, Lake Mead is the largest reservoir in the United States by volume and is second only to Lake Powell in surface area, according to the National Park Service. —Chad Murphy, The Enquirer, 16 Apr. 2024

But the harms of eating disorders are: eating disorders have one of the highest mortality rates of any mental illness (second only to opioid overdose). —Cole Kazdin, TIME, 16 Apr. 2024

Their support for Yoon was second only to that of voters aged 60 and older. —Se Eun Gong, NPR, 10 Apr. 2024

Of late, he’s formed a nice tandem with Miller, who’s totaled 146 points over his last five games, representing the most by a rookie in any five-game span this season and second only to Alonzo Mourning’s 150. —Roderick Boone, Charlotte Observer, 6 Feb. 2024

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