Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

come off second best

Word Rarity Common

Frequency: Zipf frequency 5.18 in modern English

Syllables
come of-f sec-ond best
IPA
32
Scrabble Score
17
Letters
3
Syllables
10
Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To be defeated in competition; be on the losing side.

Example Sentences

Inflected Forms

comes off second best (present, singular) coming off second best (participle, present) came off second best (past)

Phrases

second best

Frequently Paired Words

second best

Questions

What does come off second best mean?
To be defeated in competition; be on the losing side.

How to pronounce come off second best

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “come off second best”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “come off second best”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “come off second best” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.