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second-best (iou)



second-best adjective, adverb, & noun. Also second best. LME.
[from SECOND adjective, adverb + BEST adjective, noun.]
A. adjective & adverb. Next in quality to the first; (esp. attrib. & as adverb) inferior, worse. LME.
come off second-best be defeated in a contest.
Shakespeare I give unto my wife my second best bed. J. R. Ackerley He was second best, he knew..that he never could be more to her than that.
b. noun. A thing inferior to the best; an inferior alternative; a second-best person or thing. E18.
B. Kops Don't settle for second best...Marry a girl who shares your interests. C. Mackenzie Noyall was a second-best to nougat.