How to Use second-best in a Sentence

second-best

1 of 2 adjective
  • Lake’s time in the 100 is the second-best time in the state this spring.
    The Indianapolis Star, 8 May 2023
  • Norris’ time in the 200 is the second-best in the state this season.
    Kyle Neddenriep, The Indianapolis Star, 15 May 2023
  • Braun has also blocked 19 shots, the second-best mark on the team.
    Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 5 Mar. 2024
  • So, the second-best option in a rose garden is that the pests be easy to spot.
    Rita Perwich, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Aug. 2023
  • Instead, Huntsville is now the second-best place to live in the United States.
    Paul Gattis | Pgattis@al.com, al, 16 May 2023
  • The Braves have the second-best team on-base percentage in the majors at .340.
    Creg Stephenson | Cstephenson@al.com, al, 5 Aug. 2023
  • He’s got the second-best GPA on the team and he’s been starting since his freshman year.
    Mike Perrin | , al, 14 Sep. 2023
  • But the Bruins couldn’t keep the second-best scoring team in the nation down all night.
    Thuc Nhi Nguyen, Los Angeles Times, 20 Mar. 2023
  • The Big 12's the second-best golf conference in the country right behind the SEC.
    Scott Springer, The Enquirer, 3 May 2023
  • His second-best work is what the unit has done against Derrick Henry over the last three years.
    The Enquirer, 8 Sep. 2023
  • But in the end, the National League’s second-best team at 80-49 was too much to overcome.
    Julian McWilliams, BostonGlobe.com, 27 Aug. 2023
  • Penn State came in shooting 41.5% on 3-pointers, the second-best rate in the country.
    Zion Brown, The Indianapolis Star, 11 Jan. 2024
  • Meanwhile, Air New Zealand was ranked the second-best airline in the world in 2022.
    Lilit Marcus, CNN, 10 May 2023
  • The wing was starting to look like the guy who was the second-best player on a title team less than 24 months ago.
    Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 11 Mar. 2024
  • But there’s no debate about the second-best tackle in the game, either.
    Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 25 Jan. 2024
  • Two of its six losses came at the hands of the Liberty, who finished with the second-best record.
    Louisa Thomas, The New Yorker, 15 Oct. 2023
  • The Cougars are the second-best rebounding team in the Big 12 after Cincinnati.
    Shreyas Laddha, Kansas City Star, 27 Feb. 2024
  • The Lakers' 17-9 record since the Feb. 9 trade deadline is the second-best mark in the Western Conference.
    Joe Reedy, ajc, 9 Apr. 2023
  • The club had entered the season tied with the second-best odds to be World Series champions.
    Justin Klawans, The Week, 7 Apr. 2023
  • Rolling Stone even ranked her cover of the song as the second-best Kellyoke rendition.
    Tomás Mier, Rolling Stone, 28 Mar. 2024
  • Next Gen Stats rated Gonzalez as the second-best value pick in the draft.
    Ben Volin, BostonGlobe.com, 29 Apr. 2023
  • The Orioles have the second-best record in the major leagues following a loss at 31-17, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
    Jacob Calvin Meyer, Baltimore Sun, 24 Aug. 2023
  • The Ravens weren’t far behind: PFF graded them as the league’s second-best offensive line, and for good reason.
    Brian Wacker, Baltimore Sun, 1 June 2023
  • The debate over whether Miller or Stanford guard Haley Jones was the draft’s second-best player was a hot talking point at the start of the season.
    Peter Warren, Dallas News, 10 Apr. 2023
  • Xavier has the second-best defense in the Big East by field goal percentage but is just eighth in scoring margin at plus-5.29.
    Joe Arruda, Hartford Courant, 9 Jan. 2024
  • The border is probably one reason why the Tecos have the second-best home record in their nine-team division.
    Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 18 June 2023
  • Jacy Sheldon, a guard for Ohio State, considered to be the second-best guard option in the draft behind Clark.
    Jenny McCoy, SELF, 15 Apr. 2024
  • At the same time, their attack was not half-bad either as their return of 51 goals was the second-best behind the free-flowing América.
    Neel Shelat, Forbes, 29 Nov. 2023
  • Billboard says that is the second-best week for a vinyl album since SoundScan began tracking them in 1991.
    Variety, NBC News, 17 July 2023
  • The goal gave confidence to a team that defended well for 56 minutes against the league’s second-best goal scorer.
    Peter Rauterkus, Dallas News, 2 July 2023
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second best

2 of 2 adverb
  • The Suns, at 41-16, have the second best record in the NBA.
    Jeremy Cluff, The Arizona Republic, 21 Apr. 2021
  • But the run game (158.9 yards per game) is second best in the league.
    Alexis Cubit, The Courier-Journal, 5 Dec. 2022
  • Allman’s mark is the second best in the world this year.
    Tyler Dragon and Tom Schad, USA TODAY, 19 June 2021
  • The race for second best in District 6-6A is tight, and both these teams are in the thick of it.
    Joseph Hoyt, Dallas News, 18 Nov. 2020
  • The season was his second best as a pro with a QBR (75.3).
    Chris Sims, Indianapolis Star, 17 Feb. 2020
  • Stallings made 10 birdies en route to a 63, the second best round of the tournament.
    Scott Bell, Dallas News, 15 May 2021
  • The second best team in the county this season was Glenelg.
    Tim Schwartz, baltimoresun.com, 24 Nov. 2019
  • The tune won him his second best R&B song Grammy in 1981.
    Lisa Respers France, CNN, 3 Apr. 2020
  • Pikulthong ofinished in third place and had the second best score on day two of the tourney.
    Koki Riley, The Arizona Republic, 30 Oct. 2020
  • Overall, the bullpen’s 1.99 ERA is second best in the majors behind the Dodgers.
    Susan Slusser, SFChronicle.com, 25 Aug. 2020
  • The Bruins pitching staff has a team ERA of 1.17 — second best in the nation.
    Joel Rippel, Star Tribune, 16 May 2021
  • The second best option is a corner king with city views.
    Katie Kelly Bell, Forbes, 1 June 2021
  • The team ranked it the second best moment in team history.
    Christopher Kuhagen, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 29 Apr. 2021
  • The Rams are second best in the NFL at converting third downs at 54.3% early in the season.
    Mark Heim | Mheim@al.com, al, 7 Oct. 2021
  • Leftovers Day, the second best food holiday of the year.
    Alison Roman, Bon Appétit, 26 Nov. 2019
  • Hesse’s score was his 41st of the season, the second best total in the state coming into the finals.
    Lewis Bagley, The Courier-Journal, 31 Oct. 2020
  • Carey’s fourth-place finish is second best all-time at OSU.
    oregonlive, 14 Apr. 2022
  • Sure enough, the unit proved solid, holding the AHL’s second best power play to no shots.
    Ivan Carter, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Apr. 2022
  • Instead, the Suns have the second best record in the Western Conference (24-11).
    Jeff Zillgitt, USA TODAY, 6 Mar. 2021
  • And Wii Fit, which was never a top seller by year was the second best selling game of that decade.
    Chris Morris, Fortune, 17 Jan. 2020
  • This is only the second best-of-seven playoff series where the road team has won the first five games.
    Andrew Greif, Los Angeles Times, 2 June 2021
  • But entrepreneurs who are just getting into the game would do well to aim for second best.
    Yec, Forbes, 21 Apr. 2021
  • The winner from the second wild card matchup will play the division winners with the second best record.
    Paul Hoynes, cleveland, 27 Aug. 2022
  • Tampa Bay boasts the second best run-stuffing unit in the league, conceding just 76.2 yards per game on the ground.
    Jim Ayello, Indianapolis Star, 4 Dec. 2019
  • The second best thing about this crust is how unbelievable the filling tastes with it.
    Mehreen Karim, Bon Appétit, 20 July 2021
  • And that's a Badgers team that averages 3.90 goals per game, second best in the country.
    Nick Kelly, Star Tribune, 5 Feb. 2021
  • The Atlanta Hawks have the league's second best offensive rating, thanks to Trae Young.
    Matt Eppers, USA TODAY, 27 Jan. 2022
  • And for a city whose sports fans don't accept second best, Peres Jepchirchir came through with a memorable first.
    CBS News, 7 Nov. 2021
  • With Lucas Sims on the 10-day injured list, the Reds bullpen was missing its second best pitcher and the team leader in saves.
    Charlie Goldsmith, The Enquirer, 25 June 2021
  • Vissering was the second best 400-meter runner in the county and in Class 3A this spring.
    Jacob Calvin Meyer, baltimoresun.com, 23 July 2021

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

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