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come off second best. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
come off second best, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
come off second best in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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English
Verb
come off second best (third-person singular simple present comes off second best, present participle coming off second best, simple past came off second best, past participle come off second best)
- To be defeated in competition; be on the losing side.
1950 March, Michael Robbins, “Dr. Lardner's "Railway Economy"”, in Railway Magazine, page 153:He was elected to the chair of Natural Philosophy and Astronomy in 1827 at the newly-founded London University, and became prominent in railway controversies in the 'thirties, when he came off second best in a dispute with Daniel Gooch about the effects of speed on the human frame.
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