Dictionary

also-ran en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

From the world of horse race betting, where lists of winners would be published with non-paying positions printed in a block under the heading “Also Ran”.

Meanings

1. A person or animal who competed in a race, or other competition, but did not win.
2. (figuratively) A loser; a person or thing soon to be forgotten.
   • And, of course, it is also far easier, quicker, and less embarrassing to dismiss an also-ran over the phone than it is in person […] 1993, Martin Yate, Hiring the Best, Adams Media, page 58:
   • It also turned Palmer from an also-ran into a challenger. 1960 June 18, “Nerves of Steel”, in The New York Times:
   • I have 37 actors and actresses I would supply for television and radio work and then I have maybe 150 to 200 also-rans who get extra work and television commercials. 1962, Records of the Proceedings and Printed Papers of the Parliament, volume 4, Australia, page 261:
   • […]as the drug came out of the R&D laboratory, it could have been just another also-ran […] 1998, Richard C Dorf, The Technology Management Handbook, CRC Press, page 40:
   • The transition from comer to also-ran can be quick […] 2004 August 9, The New Yorker, page 40:
   • […]some of Mr. Scorsese's accomplishments have been so stunning—that it's impossible to view "The Last Waltz" as anything but an also-ran. 1978 April 26, Janet Maslin, “Film: Scorsese and the Band”, in The New York Times:

Forms

Relateds

underdog · nearly man · first loser

Translations (4)

es uno del montón (a person or animal who competed in a race but did not win) · de ferner liefen (a person or animal who competed in a race but did not win) · hu futottak még (a person or animal who competed in a race but did not win) · cmn 陪跑 (a person or animal who competed in a race but did not win)