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.

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

After years as an also-ran, the startup has pulled ahead in the artificial-intelligence race after focusing on enterprise users and coding.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026

Coming into the AI boom, Google Cloud was an also-ran among the big clouds.

From Barron's • May 1, 2026

But so many better horror features have been constructed along the same lines—“X,” “House of 1000 Corpses”— that this one comes across as merely a tedious also-ran.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 26, 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