WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

second best
    n 1: the competitor who finishes second [syn: runner-up,
         second best]

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

32 Moby Thesaurus words for "second best":
   Mickey Mouse, base, cheap, cheesy, coarse, common, disappointing,
   falling short, fourth-class, inferior, irregular, low class,
   low quality, low-class, low-grade, low-quality, low-test, mean,
   paltry, poor, punk, second best, second-class, seedy, shabby,
   tacky, tantalizing, teasing, third-class, third-rate, tinny,
   unsatisfactory