second only to
idiom
: only less important than (something or someone)
Rice is second only to corn as the state's major crop.
Examples of second only to in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Last year, Daniels ranked second only to the Baltimore Ravens’ Lamar Jackson in rushing yards by a quarterback, and in Washington’s Week 1 win over the New York Giants, Daniels rushed 11 times for 68 yards.
—
Matt Schneidman, New York Times, 13 Sep. 2025
This landed Ellison, who owns more than 40% of shares, at the top of the Forbes Billionaires List, second only to his good friend, Elon Musk.
—Martine Paris, Forbes.com, 12 Sep. 2025
Mahomes had the second lowest percentage of intermediate throws in the league last week, second only to Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, who will visit Kansas City this weekend after somehow making zero intermediate throws in the opener.
—Kansas City Star, 11 Sep. 2025
The rest of the go-tos before Nick Pivetta joined the stable this year — Yu Darvish, Michael King and Joe Musgrove — have cycled off and on and sometimes back off the active roster so much that the workload of an up-and-down arm is second only to Cease’s over the last two years.
—Jeff Sanders, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for second only to
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Matt Schneidman, New York Times, 13 Sep. 2025
This landed Ellison, who owns more than 40% of shares, at the top of the Forbes Billionaires List, second only to his good friend, Elon Musk.
—Martine Paris, Forbes.com, 12 Sep. 2025
Mahomes had the second lowest percentage of intermediate throws in the league last week, second only to Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, who will visit Kansas City this weekend after somehow making zero intermediate throws in the opener.
—Kansas City Star, 11 Sep. 2025
The rest of the go-tos before Nick Pivetta joined the stable this year — Yu Darvish, Michael King and Joe Musgrove — have cycled off and on and sometimes back off the active roster so much that the workload of an up-and-down arm is second only to Cease’s over the last two years.
—Jeff Sanders, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for second only to
Cite this Entry
“Second only to.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/second%20only%20to. Accessed 16 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share