How to Use also-ran in a Sentence

also-ran

noun
Definition of also-rannext
Synonyms for also-rannext
  • Plus also-rans from the V.P. search that ended yesterday with Walz as winner.
    — Axios, 7 Aug. 2024
  • And to think at least two of them will be postseason also-rans in 2023.
    — Nate Davis, USA TODAY, 24 Apr. 2023
  • This is a choice that will confront others among the also-rans at some point, as well.
    — The Editors, National Review, 28 Aug. 2023
  • One of these also-rans was Pete Kreis, who first competed in the race in 1925.
    — Mark Yost, WSJ, 25 May 2023
  • His wealth has transformed the fortunes of City, taking the club from an also-ran in the English Premier League to a dominant force.
    — Pan Pylas, Quartz, 13 Mar. 2024
  • At a forum like the P.G.A. Championship, those travails separate the elite from the crowd of also-rans that will be thick since the field includes 156 players.
    — Alan Blinder, New York Times, 16 May 2023
  • Yet almost two weeks after voters went to the polls, the country of 240 million finds itself on the brink of being governed by a coalition of the also-rans.
    — Hasan Ali, The Christian Science Monitor, 21 Feb. 2024
  • Women athletes for decades have mostly been also-rans in the sports marketplace.
    — Joel Mathis, theweek, 22 Mar. 2024
  • The 1990 season marked the Reds’ last World Series win before the evolving economics of the game turned them into a near-permanent also-ran.
    — Brandon Harris, The New Yorker, 7 Aug. 2024
  • The rules of the 2024 nominating contest are not meant to encourage also-rans from sticking around to pick up a delegate here or there.
    — TIME, 16 Jan. 2024
  • That leaves Google — long an also-ran in the U.S. smartphone market — with an opportunity.
    — Chris Velazco, Washington Post, 10 May 2023
  • That could change when new episodes premiere on Netflix, which, time and again, has proven its ability to turn other platforms’ also-rans into hits.
    — Vulture, 26 Jan. 2024
  • After Petersen, Iacocca and Welch, the rest were also-rans, the poll indicated.
    — Detroit Free Press, 26 Apr. 2024
  • Haas, in other words, is Formula 1’s basement dweller; their aspirations each year are not to vie for a title but to best fellow also-rans like Williams and Alpine.
    — Erik Shilling, Robb Report, 13 Mar. 2024
  • After years of wallowing in also-ran status, the Lions had a magical season that put them on the brink of their first Super Bowl appearance.
    — Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 31 Jan. 2024
  • Games were starting to become more popular, but they were powered by CPUs, central processing units, and then graphics were kind of like an also-ran.
    — Lauren Goode, WIRED, 29 Feb. 2024
  • But the tragedy of each also-ran still merited rigorous coverage.
    — John Ganz, Harper's Magazine, 22 May 2024
  • Nike, for its part, was a running-shoe powerhouse but basketball also-ran, ranking third in market share behind Converse and arguably dead last in terms of street cred.
    — Vulture, 15 May 2023
  • But if players such as Smith and Johnson are unable to recreate their past magic sooner than later, the league’s prospects could diminish into a circuit of also-rans.
    — Alan Blinder, BostonGlobe.com, 3 Apr. 2023
  • It could be argued that what the Globes really do is bring clarity to the awards race, separating the true contenders from the also-rans and helping studios decide where to focus their campaigns.
    — Todd Longwell, Variety, 21 Dec. 2023
  • Typically, ‘tweener products are seen as also-rans, or at most, uninspired copies of an original idea.
    — Kevin Koenig, Robb Report, 17 Jan. 2024
  • Where Steil adds unusual value, however, is in documenting the breadth of the damage this also-ran wrought upon our polity.
    — Heather Wilhelm, National Review, 22 Feb. 2024
  • DeSantis, by comparison, earns support from 17 percent of voters—with a bevy of also-rans also running in the low single digits.
    — Grace Segers, The New Republic, 31 July 2023
  • The talent gulf is readily evident on defense, where Donald and linebacker Ernest Jones will be surrounded by a starting crew of afterthoughts and also-rans.
    — Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz, USA TODAY, 6 June 2023
  • Over time, as the studio attempted to navigate rapidly shifting consumer habits and a volatile streaming landscape, Paramount came to be regarded as something of an also-ran.
    — Josh Rottenberg, Los Angeles Times, 9 July 2024
  • Even in the best of times, Twitter was an also-ran in the digital ad space compared to tech giants like Meta and Google, with a smaller user base and less sophisticated ad targeting technology.
    — Clare Duffy, CNN, 17 May 2023
  • These two postseason also-rans are playing for nothing but personal pride and multiple roster spots next season.
    — The Arizona Republic, 1 Jan. 2024
  • Somehow, the weird, wacky also-ran had ballooned into the most surefire awards juggernaut in recent memory — every award everywhere all at once! — a trajectory that echoes the drama of the movie itself.
    — Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times, 12 Mar. 2023
  • There are plenty of also-rans and similar solutions in the space; just today, Bowers & Wilkins announced its own wireless multiroom audio feature.
    — Chris Welch, The Verge, 11 Oct. 2023
  • My deep personal passion for Apple TV+ aside (accused by some of being an also-ran in the streaming wars), the company is a boring, thoroughly forgettable version of its former self.
    — Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 8 May 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'also-ran.' 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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