Word.ws English Dictionary

also-ran

also-ran noun: a person or animal who competed in a race, or other competition, but did not win.

Noun

also-ran (plural also-rans)

  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.
    • 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

Examples of also-ran in a sentence

  • 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:
  • 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:
  • […]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:

Forms of also-ran

pluralalso-rans

Origin of also-ran

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”.

Questions about also-ran

What does also-ran mean?
Also-ran means a person or animal who competed in a race, or other competition, but did not win.
How do you use also-ran in a sentence?
Scorsese's accomplishments have been so stunning—that it's impossible to view "The Last Waltz" as anything but an also-ran.
What part of speech is also-ran?
Also-ran is a noun.
What is the plural of also-ran?
The plural of also-ran is also-rans.

Words near also-ran in the dictionary

  1. alsinaceous
  2. Alsip
  3. ALSMY
  4. also
  5. also known as
  6. also-ran
  7. also-rans
  8. Alsobrook
  9. Alsobrooks
  10. Alsobrookses
  11. alsoe

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: also-ran (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-also-ran.wav.

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