From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishrunner-upˌrunner-ˈup noun (plural runners-up) [countable]DSCOMPETITION the person or team that comes second in a race or competition
Examples from the Corpus
runner-up• An overall winner and a runner-up were chosen from the many entries and their reviews were featured in TeleClub a few weeks ago.• But Whitaker's luck changed in the four rider Horsemaster final when he again looked likely to finish as a runner-up.• Gordon was also presented with a cheque as runner-up of the closely fought contest.• This Sun Alliance Chase runner-up will be a match for any over three miles plus on soft ground.• She transformed a struggling Mustang team into a league runner-up her sophomore year and then into a two-time champion.• The two-time state runner-up is 38-1.• He had predicted he would win the Louisiana caucuses and be a strong runner-up to Dole, the front-runner, in Iowa.• The winner is trained by Warren Stute, the runner-up by his brother Mel Stute. 