also-ran
noun
al·so-ran
ˈȯl(t)-(ˌ)sō-ˌran 
ˈȯ-
1
: a horse or dog that finishes out of the money in a race
2
: a contestant that does not win
3
: one that is of little importance especially competitively
was just an also-ran in the scramble for … privileges—
C. A. Buss
C. A. BussExamples of also-ran in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The anticlimactic contest between two West also-rans missing three All-Stars tips off at 7 p.m. PT.
—David Faris, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 Apr. 2025
As the team’s First Nations players, fans, and also-rans shape their lives beyond the ice, generational trauma, addiction, and a paucity of choices loom large.
—Monitor Contributors, Christian Science Monitor, 11 Apr. 2025
What if Auriemma’s Dodgers and Yankees aren’t UConn and South Carolina but mid-majors or Power 4 also-rans that no one expects?
‘So out of whack’
As if the two extremes weren’t complicated enough, Monday’s hearing comes during a complex time in women’s basketball.
—Matt Baker, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2025
Five decades later, Microsoft stands as a survivor of tech’s brutal evolutionary cycles, transforming from a scrappy BASIC interpreter vendor to an operating system kingpin, an internet also-ran, a stagnating giant, and now a cloud computing and AI player worth almost $3 trillion.
—Jackie Snow, Quartz, 3 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for also-ran
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David Faris, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 Apr. 2025
As the team’s First Nations players, fans, and also-rans shape their lives beyond the ice, generational trauma, addiction, and a paucity of choices loom large.
—Monitor Contributors, Christian Science Monitor, 11 Apr. 2025
What if Auriemma’s Dodgers and Yankees aren’t UConn and South Carolina but mid-majors or Power 4 also-rans that no one expects?
‘So out of whack’
As if the two extremes weren’t complicated enough, Monday’s hearing comes during a complex time in women’s basketball.
—Matt Baker, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2025
Five decades later, Microsoft stands as a survivor of tech’s brutal evolutionary cycles, transforming from a scrappy BASIC interpreter vendor to an operating system kingpin, an internet also-ran, a stagnating giant, and now a cloud computing and AI player worth almost $3 trillion.
—Jackie Snow, Quartz, 3 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for also-ran
Cite this Entry
“Also-ran.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/also-ran. Accessed 30 Apr. 2025.
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