A runner-up is the person or team that finishes in second place in a competition, just behind the winner. In a spelling bee, the runner-up is the student who made it all the way to the final round but missed that last crucial word. In a presidential election, the runner-up is the candidate who received the second-most votes.

Today we use this term for all kinds of contests: science fairs, baking competitions, talent shows, or sports tournaments.

Sometimes competitions recognize multiple runners-up: a first runner-up (second place), a second runner-up (third place), and so on. Beauty pageants often use this system, announcing the runners-up before revealing the winner.

Being a runner-up means you competed at a very high level. You beat everyone except one person or team. While it can feel disappointing to come so close to winning, many runners-up go on to achieve remarkable things. Abraham Lincoln lost a race for the U.S. Senate before becoming one of the United States' presidents.