a person who is not successful, especially in a competition or an election 失败者；（尤指竞赛或竞选的）失利者 A year ago he was just an also-ran for the Democratic nomination. 一年前，他还是民主党提名的候选人。 The campaign transformed him from an also-ran in the polls to front-runner. 这场运动使他从民意调查中的失利者变为领先者。