second best
noun1
Something (or someone) that is inferior to the best (but better than other alternatives).
- And so makeshift and second-best have continued.1956, Anthony Burgess, Time for a Tiger (The Malayan Trilogy), published 1972, page 38:
- If I made you feel second best / Well I'm sorry I was blind1970, Johnny Christopher, Mark James, Wayne Carson, “Always On My Mind”, performed by Brenda Lee:
2
Economics, Sciences A situation where one or more optimality conditions cannot be satisfied.
- Related terms
- come off second best, third best, first loser