also-ran

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Seeded as an also-ran at No. 23, she upset Coco Gauff and Karolina Muchova before falling in a tight three-set match to Amanda Anisimova.

From Los Angeles Times • May 28, 2026

Even classical music listeners have their version in what may be the most legendary rivalry of all — the one that also-ran Italian composer Antonio Salieri supposedly nursed with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

From Salon • May 16, 2026

Intel has gone from a chip also-ran to a legitimate player in the AI computing boom.

From Barron's • May 1, 2026

Anthropic’s Big Week: Anthropic once appeared as an also-ran in the chaotic AI race.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 8, 2026

His musical efflorescence was tragically brief, but this is the man who turned the chord-strumming, jobbing electric guitar into a high-wire, virtuoso lead instrument, from also-ran to star turn.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall