How to Use second-rate in a Sentence

second-rate

adjective
  • These fans understand that M.L.S. is a second-rate show, and that the real hot action is taking place overseas, in the élite leagues of Europe.
    — Jody Rosen, The New Yorker, 23 July 2023
  • After all, the media companies are only going to spend so much for the rights to broadcast second-rate games.
    — Jon Wilner | , oregonlive, 14 Aug. 2023
  • Virtual meetings aren’t just second-rate versions of the in-person kind.
    — William Arruda, Forbes, 12 Sep. 2024
  • While Holmes won’t be behind the wheel, Hettinger Racing isn’t settling for second-rate talent.
    — Greg Engle, Forbes, 29 Oct. 2024
  • The Trojans still had few postseason options available to them beyond a second-rate bowl game.
    — Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 26 Oct. 2024
  • Here’s a selection of the best upcoming events where there’ll be no need to eat out of a Styrofoam box or listen to second-rate indie bands.
    — Joe Minihane, CNN, 5 Mar. 2023
  • His cigars weren’t as nasty as his habit of chasing bad money with worse—high living and foolish investments, with second-rate writing meant to plug the gap.
    — Lauren Michele Jackson, New Yorker, 28 Apr. 2025
  • Farke has found a way to maximise Firpo’s talents, even with the caveat this is a former Barcelona full-back playing against second-rate opposition.
    — Beren Cross, The Athletic, 21 Mar. 2025
  • For some philosophers, hope is a second-rate way of relating to reality.
    — Big Think, 24 June 2024
  • Frozen blueberries are especially handy to have around for drink recipes—and not just as a second-rate substitute for fresh produce.
    — Ali Ramee, Southern Living, 2 July 2023
  • European soccer elitists turn up their noses at the Europa League because of its second-rate status.
    — Alex Tabet, NBC news, 20 May 2025
  • The sing-song qualities of his music did not sit well with many music critics, who dismissed him as a second-rate talent with little to offer.
    — George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Sep. 2023
  • Moore herself has, with sly self-mockery, invoked Stephen Sondheim’s line that excessive bird imagery is a sign of a second-rate poet.
    — Parul Sehgal, The New Yorker, 12 June 2023
  • But even as China emerged as a major car manufacturer, its homegrown brands were still seen as second-rate.
    — Simone McCarthy, CNN Money, 2 May 2025
  • The world’s most valuable basketball franchise has a second-rate broadcasting team.
    — Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 5 May 2024
  • Ultimately, they might be forced to accept a system that codifies them as second-rate.
    — Jon Wilner, Mercury News, 4 June 2025
  • However, the thing that really bothers many parents like me who opt for medicated births is the idea that this kind of scenario is somehow second-rate.
    — Marisa Cohen, Parents, 12 Aug. 2023
  • High-quality data have failed to validate those questions, so second-rate research has often been used to make the case against mifepristone.
    — Keren Landman, The Atlantic, 24 May 2025
  • East Coast media have started to sour on sample sale culture, with their hours-long waits, appointment systems and second-rate selection.
    — Dave Schilling, Los Angeles Times, 17 Nov. 2023
  • It must be acknowledged and accepted that educators are the experts in their profession and not second-rate.
    — Patricia A. Daniel, Baltimore Sun, 13 Apr. 2025
  • After the composer’s death, a hokey big operatic ending got tacked on with a showy duet by a second-rate composer, Franco Alfano.
    — Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, 6 June 2024
  • But there’s another component to the issue of second-rate men’s basketball: The collective ceiling.
    — Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 8 Mar. 2024
  • While the setup is often different from what happens in a bustling medical office, a new study blows away quibbles over protocol and suggests that even when done perfectly, the method is second-rate.
    — Ars Technica, 24 Jan. 2025
  • Sometime in the late 18th century, though, offal started suffering from an image problem, viewed by some people to be an affordable but second-rate food.
    — Valerie Trapp, The Atlantic, 17 Apr. 2025
  • Aside from the weather, hourlong wait times for food, defective wristbands and second-rate VIP experiences were among the complaints from festivalgoers.
    — Evan Moore, Charlotte Observer, 5 May 2024
  • Aside from the weather, hourlong wait times for food, defective wristbands and second-rate VIP experiences were among the complaints from festivalgoers.
    — Evan Moore, Charlotte Observer, 16 Apr. 2025
  • According to Charter, Disney had placed some of its best content exclusively on its streamers, leaving cable with second-rate content.
    — Bypaolo Confino, Fortune, 11 Sep. 2023
  • Movies based on vintage, often second-rate network shows don’t usually offer audiences much more than weak, watery nostalgia.
    — Tom Gliatto, Peoplemag, 3 May 2024
  • Maybe then the United States will care about slipping to second-rate.
    — Noah Shachtman, Wired News, 13 Jan. 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'second-rate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: