How to Use second fiddle in a Sentence

second fiddle

noun
Definition of second fiddlenext
Synonyms for second fiddlenext
  • So why, then, does the movie treat her as second fiddle?
    — Alissa Wilkinson, Vox, 23 Aug. 2018
  • Back in the 1930s, the heyday of the fur industry, mink played second fiddle to the long-haired furs.
    — John Schandelmeier, Anchorage Daily News, 18 Jan. 2020
  • The nature of the job All vice presidents play second fiddle to the top of the ticket, as that's the nature of the job.
    — Ron Elving, NPR, 30 Mar. 2024
  • While Williams has played second fiddle to Addison much of the season, he’s still been one of the top receivers in the Pac-12.
    — Los Angeles Times, 28 Oct. 2022
  • After have a very good season, one of the most over-achieving teams in the NBA has to play second fiddle in their own city.
    — latimes.com, 27 June 2019
  • Even Trump plays second fiddle to the Iron Bowl rivalry.
    — Joseph Goodman | Jgoodman@al.com, al, 6 Nov. 2019
  • The business model is second fiddle to the safety of running it right.
    — John Cherwa, Los Angeles Times, 23 Sep. 2019
  • Does Jadeveon Clowney just not want to play second fiddle to Myles Garrett?
    — Dan Labbe, cleveland, 23 June 2020
  • The first few years were spent relearning the ropes and playing second fiddle to teams like Red Bull Racing.
    — Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica, 12 Sep. 2017
  • Indeed, at Philipp Plein, the clothing played a distant second fiddle to the music.
    — Adam Wray, Billboard, 10 Oct. 2017
  • Brad Pitt playing second fiddle to a charred oak Leo DiCaprio, all the while subtly stealing the show.
    — Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 28 May 2021
  • Ethereum plays second fiddle to bitcoin and is lagging it.
    — Clem Chambers, Forbes, 20 Feb. 2024
  • While her pages are eye-catching, they aren’t overly designed where the content plays second fiddle to the look.
    — Dallas News, 4 May 2021
  • While the crispy, crunchy croquette of pig’s head is the ostensible star of this course, the brothy butter beans here play second fiddle to no one.
    — Jeremy Repanich, Robb Report, 29 Dec. 2022
  • But on this night Brady played second fiddle to Foles despite throwing for a playoff record 505 yards.
    — USA TODAY, 5 Feb. 2018
  • As Madrid struggled to perform in the league, few took notice of the young Spaniard, who was stuck playing second fiddle for most of the campaign to Isco.
    — SI.com, 28 June 2018
  • Maybe that would even work, but the problem is that Witten has never played second fiddle to anyone.
    — Kevin Sherrington, Dallas News, 28 Feb. 2020
  • Brooke feeling jealous or second fiddle to a fake celebrity doesn’t have the same power.
    — Danielle Turchiano, Variety, 9 Sep. 2021
  • Crime and the green belt are mentioned in his literature, but these play second fiddle.
    — The Economist, 7 Nov. 2019
  • But Toni and Seb’s romance feels inevitable, and thereby, second fiddle to the excitement of the band’s journey.
    — Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 2 June 2021
  • Even in the Midwest, where the thin-crusted, square-cut pizzas originated, tavern pies tend to play second fiddle to the deep dish and pan pies of the world.
    — Michael Russell, oregonlive, 25 Mar. 2020
  • Often, the romance plays second fiddle to the central mystery and Patience’s own journey to make peace with herself in spite of the world around her.
    — Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 30 June 2020
  • Those Wildcats were playing second fiddle to state behemoth Allen and might just find themselves in the same role now, but with the Dragons.
    — Stephen English, star-telegram, 2 Feb. 2018
  • Mond is now playing second fiddle to Nick Starkel, who lit up New Mexico to solidify his spot at the top of the depth chart.
    — Alex Martin Smith, ajc, 15 Nov. 2017
  • The Hubble Telescope, which had its own dramatic reveal in the 1990s, is now second fiddle.
    — Anna Kaufman, USA TODAY, 12 July 2022
  • But even this richly atmospheric setting played second fiddle (so to speak) to the clothes.
    — Nicole Phelps, Vogue, 11 Dec. 2023
  • Often playing second fiddle to apples, pears are a fall fruit deserving of the spotlight in their own right.
    — Aaron Hutcherson, Washington Post, 3 Oct. 2022
  • The supporting actors are all fine and all playing second fiddle to Swank, like their characters are to Eileen.
    — Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Oct. 2022
  • She's trapped in a job defined by the limitations of being second fiddle.
    — Harold Maass, The Week, 6 Mar. 2023
  • What kind of rock star move is that, willingly playing second fiddle to a solar apocalypse?
    — Chris Willman, Variety, 9 Apr. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'second fiddle.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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