How to Use also-ran in a Sentence

also-ran

noun

• This is a choice that will confront others among the also-rans at some point, as well.
  — The Editors, National Review, 28 Aug. 2023
• The idea is not to fill the Kentucky Derby gate with also-rans.
  — Guy Martin, Forbes.com, 30 Apr. 2025
• And to think at least two of them will be postseason also-rans in 2023.
  — Nate Davis, USA TODAY, 24 Apr. 2023
• Depending on the week, the Phils have looked like the best team in baseball or a complete also-ran.
  — Tony Blengino, Forbes.com, 11 June 2025
• Women athletes for decades have mostly been also-rans in the sports marketplace.
  — Joel Mathis, theweek, 22 Mar. 2024
• Or a two-time presidential also-ran looking for a soft landing?
  — Michael R. Blood, Chicago Tribune, 22 May 2025
• That's because the choicest ones get snatched up early, leaving only the straggly also-rans.
  — Felix Salmon, Axios, 10 Dec. 2024
• But the tragedy of each also-ran still merited rigorous coverage.
  — Harper's Magazine, 2 July 2024
• Right now is when fans of also-rans start to look for anything that could possibly carry momentum into the winter.
  — Grant Brisbee, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2025
• Listen to the podcast in full, and hear more of our favorites and also-rans from Venice and Telluride, below.
  — Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 5 Sep. 2025
• One of these also-rans was Pete Kreis, who first competed in the race in 1925.
  — Mark Yost, WSJ, 25 May 2023
• Lower Decks comes in, introducing us to the also-rans for whom the bridge is undiscovered country.
  — Chris McMullen, Space.com, 30 Mar. 2026
• My shoes were still in the window at Burch’s, at the center of the display, with clogs around them on lower platforms, also-rans to my winner.
  — Rachel Kushner, New Yorker, 14 Sep. 2025
• Firstly, the choicest specimens get snatched up early, leaving only the straggly also-rans.
  — Felix Salmon, Axios, 6 Dec. 2024
• 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
• Straight country and hip-hop tend to be also-rans when voters are casting ballots in these top four categories, which covers most of the other outside-chancers.
  — Chris Willman, Variety, 4 Oct. 2024
• Community features will separate the winners from the also-rans.
  — Ashley Lynch, Sacbee.com, 16 Sep. 2026
• Meanwhile Barnes & Noble’s NOOK has fallen out of even the also-ran space.
  — Literary Hub, 6 Aug. 2026
• The past master of the universe is an economic colossus but, strategically, its civilization is an also-ran.
  — Josef Joffe, The Atlantic, 14 Feb. 2026
• There was no lack of desire to start stockpiling future assets amid a season in which the Leafs have unexpectedly gone from a contender to an also-ran.
  — Chris Johnston, New York Times, 5 Mar. 2026
• Red Bull Salzburg have gone from perennial champions to relative also-rans in Austria.
  — Nick Miller, New York Times, 13 June 2025
• 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
• 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
• 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
• Injuries have taken their toll, but even tied for the division, the Chargers still seem capped as AFC West also-rans.
  — J.j. Bailey, New York Times, 19 Oct. 2025
• Google’s cloud business, once an also-ran, is growing steadily, thanks in part to the global rush to develop AI services and demand for compute.
  — Mark Bergen, Fortune, 25 Nov. 2025
• John Poulakidas scored 28 points to lead the Mavericks in a meeting of also-rans that more closely resembled a summer league game.
  — ABC News, 12 Apr. 2026
• After Petersen, Iacocca and Welch, the rest were also-rans, the poll indicated.
  — Detroit Free Press, 26 Apr. 2024
• Josh Young placed fifth with 2,420 votes and Sheyvette Dinkens rounded out the list of also-rans with 2,325 votes.
  — Matthew Kelly, Kansas City Star, 5 Nov. 2025
• 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