second-rate

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Outwardly unassuming and privately acerbic, Martin Gilmour teaches at a second-rate English university that, in his words, “tended to attract the stupid rich.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 13, 2026

In the span of just a few months, Google has fought off concerns that AI would kill its Search business and has transformed Gemini from a second-rate chatbot into a serious competitor to OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

From MarketWatch • Nov. 22, 2025

Mamdani's attempt to break into the competitive world of professional music did not last, with the performer-turned-politician calling himself a second-rate artist.

From Barron's • Oct. 26, 2025

The government also said northern England had been stuck with "second-rate" transport links for too long, and that this was "leaving communities cut off and holding back growth".

From BBC • Sep. 9, 2025

But Ebright, reacting to rumors his father had heard, had come to suspect that Pocock was sending him second-rate or defective equipment in order to hobble Washington’s principal rival.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown