How to pronounce runner-up
American English pronunciation
RUN-er-up
- IPA
- /ˈɹʌnɚˌʌp/
- Syllables
- RUN · er · up (3 syllables, stress on the 1st)
- Also said
- run-er-UP
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What runner-up means
The person or team that finishes in second place
In a sentence: Sam was the runner-up in the spelling bee, just behind his best friend.
Where it comes from: It is built from runner and up. No one is sure exactly how it came to mean second place.
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