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

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

With Rosemont in the race, no one had any reason to believe that the horse Tom Smith was leading down the platform would be anything more than an also-ran.

From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand