zweitbest
second-best
Standing in second place in a ranking according to quality, performance, or popularity.
EXAMPLE
Mit seiner Zeit lief er das zweitbeste Ergebnis des Tages.
With his time, he achieved the second-best result of the day.
zweitbest
second-best
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Meanings
Usage tips
Word composition
The word is a compound of the ordinal number 'zweit-' (second) and the superlative 'best' (best). So it literally means 'in the second-best position'.
EXAMPLE
Er hat den zweitbesten Platz im Wettbewerb erreicht.
He achieved second-best place in the competition.
Productive pattern
This pattern is very productive. You can combine it with other ordinal numbers ('drittbest' = third-best, 'viertbest' = fourth-best) and other superlatives ('zweitgrößte' = second-largest, 'zweitwichtigste' = second-most important).
EXAMPLE
Berlin ist die zweitgrößte Stadt Deutschlands.
Berlin is the second-largest city in Germany.
Use in a sentence
Like other adjectives, 'zweitbest-' is declined when it stands before a noun. But it can also stand at the end of a sentence without declension.
EXAMPLE
Wir haben uns für die zweitbeste Option entschieden.
We decided on the second-best option.
Compare with
zweitbest vs zweitrangig
secondary
Zweitrangig means that something is less important and does not have the highest priority. Zweitbest, by contrast, refers specifically to second place in a ranking based on quality, performance, or popularity. Zweitrangig fits priorities, while zweitbest fits a specific ranking position.
zweitbest
Bei der Auswahl des Hotels war dieses Angebot für uns das zweitbeste.
When choosing the hotel, this offer was our second-best option.
zweitrangig
Bei der Auswahl des Hotels war die Aussicht für uns zweitrangig.
When choosing the hotel, the view was of secondary importance to us.
In real life
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