second best

second best

(Describing) someone or something that is one step below or slightly inferior to the person or thing that is considered the best, especially in a formal ranking. Even though I'd spent weeks working on my project for the science fair, I still came off second best. Do you want to be remembered as second best? Or as the champions?
See also: second
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

second best

Also, second class. Next after the first in rank or quality, inferior to the best, as in We aren't satisfied with being second best in sales, or This hotel is obviously second class. The first term dates from the first half of the 1400s, the variant from about 1800. Also see come off, def. 2; second class.
See also: second
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

ˌsecond ˈbest

not as good as the best; not exactly what you want: The two teams seemed evenly matched, but Arsenal came off second best (= did not win). Sometimes you have to settle for (= be content with) second best.
See also: second
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
See also:
  • a cut below
  • red-headed stepchild
  • stepchild
  • the weak link
  • a weak link
  • weak link
  • wanna be
  • wannabe
  • be a ghost of (someone's or something's) former self
  • be a shadow of (someone's or something's) former self
References in periodicals archive
Sonny's plan centers on buying a second hotel -- to be christened, of course, "The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.''
The Vauxhall Astra, produced at GM's Ellesmere Port car plant, was the top seller in its class and second best for total car sales.
Brett Skyrme's 10oz was the second best and Kane Chivers third with 6oz.
Second Best Planning Problem For each [gamma] [member of] [0, +[infinity]], find an allocation c = ([c.sub.1H], [c.sub.1L], [c.sub.2H], [c.sub.2L]) that maximizes the value of the welfare objective (3) subject to resource feasibility constraints (2) and incentive compatibility constraints (13), (14).
You need to visit it, or, second best, read the plans and sections with the intensity a conductor brings to a musical score in order to extract the full potency of the work.
Dwayne peel admitted the Lions were second best to the All Blacks but didn't believe the score reflected how close a battle it was in Wellington.
Because once you accept second-best when first is available you tend to do it for the rest of your life." I don't play for second best and TAPPI is not going to play for second best.
Black-and-white maps to the towns that house these best of the best locales round out Best Food In Town, especially recommended for Heartland travelers who don't want to settle for second best while on the road.
Ford president Sir Nicholas Scheele has attacked Land Rover for lagging behind Halewood -and says the Midlands' biggest factory cannot settle for second best.
Danny Wilson admitted Bristol City were "second best" after watching his former club Barnsley book their place in the third round of The FA Cup.
NORDIC BUSINESS REPORT-8 May 2003-Frontline Ltd posts second best quarter ever(C)1994-2003 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD http://www.m2.com
A conference paper on this subject, entitled "Quantitative Elastic-Property Information with Acoustic AFM: Measurements and Modeling," by NIST's Donna Hurley and Paul Rice, Joseph Turner (University of Nebraska-Lincoln) and Joshua Wiehn (former Nebraska graduate student), was recently awarded Second Best Paper for the SPIE 2002 Symposium on NDE and Health Monitoring.
El Salvador's GDP growth throughout the 1990s was the second best in Latin America, surpassed only by Chile.
American consumers deserve the best system to save lives, not the second best system to save auto companies money."