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
Not long ago, Amazon Web Services was seen as an also-ran in the great AI race.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 17, 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
It became an also-ran and there it remains until now.
From BBC • Jan. 31, 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
