second best
Inferior to the bestInferior to the best (but better than other alternatives).
» I don't want to settle for second best.
CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
2 senses(not comparable)Inferior to the best (but better than other alternatives).
I had to make do with a second-best alternative.
(not comparable)Characterized by one or more optimality conditions not being satisfiable.
Examples
20 sentencesI don't want to settle for second best.
Tom must choose the second-best policy according to the circumstances.
Tom was the second-best hitter on the team.
Tom is the second-best hitter on the team.
My friend bought the second-best bicycle in the shop.
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.