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Examples of second fiddle in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Whereas in the film the music supports but plays second fiddle to the visuals, here its presence is much further forward in the audience’s senses.
—David Benedict, Variety, 8 May 2024
But after years of playing second fiddle, CHROs are poised to become a major player in the C-suite, according to Stanford economist and workplace guru Nick Bloom.
—Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 9 Apr. 2024
What kind of rock star move is that, willingly playing second fiddle to a solar apocalypse?
—Chris Willman, Variety, 9 Apr. 2024
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
But Singleton's attention quickly turned from Martell to Jeannie C. Riley, Plantation's biggest act, a white country and gospel singer to whom Martell refused to play second fiddle.
—Lester Fabian Brathwaite, EW.com, 29 Mar. 2024
Ethereum plays second fiddle to bitcoin and is lagging it.
—Clem Chambers, Forbes, 20 Feb. 2024
This marks an absolutely pivotal moment for the 20-year-old launch company, which has gone from the titan of the US launch industry to playing a distant second fiddle to its one-time upstart competitor SpaceX.
—Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 5 Jan. 2024
Russell Wilson and Colin Kaepernick played second fiddle to the team’s defenses.
—Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 17 Jan. 2024
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.
Word History
First Known Use
1809, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near second fiddle
Cite this Entry
“Second fiddle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/second%20fiddle. Accessed 28 May. 2024.
Kids Definition
second fiddle
noun
: a person who fills a secondary role
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