From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishtake second place (to somebody/something)take second place (to somebody/something)IMPORTANTto be less important than someone or something else She wasn’t prepared to take second place in his life. → place
Examples from the Corpus
take second place (to somebody/something)• There was criticism that books took second place, even when it came to the design of the building.• However, religious identity had taken second place to secular nationalism for a whole generation.• Spider then is able to confront his fear and on the big night, he takes second place in the spelling bee.• Since she was utterly devoted to my father, her children inevitably took second place.• It's not unusual for man to be put in this position of taking second place.• Nina was telling Joe that she was here to help but not to take second place to his wife.• However, toilet training took second place to skill with weapons or natural aggression.• Words take second place to nonverbal cues, personal mannerisms, gestures, expressions, and overall appearance. 