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Glite Dictionary
second string

second string

2 4.7
A group of players who replace the usual starters during a game
  • noun
  • /ˈsɛkənd strɪŋ/
translation icon : suplentes
  • Spartans' second string is playing tough against the bigger Poly team and made them scrape for every yard.

Examples

  • Now, I want to split us up into first string and second string.

    She's the Man (2006)

  • After the training camp, his coach said that he was second string and that when he starts learning the system, he will be first string.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • The first and second strings will play a lot of games before the qualifiers.

    Killer Waves 2 (2020)

  • Leaving Tim Beckman in the quandary he's in now: a second string with very little experience.

    Blog text (31)

  • The coach reminded the players that the second string would be ready to step in during the big game.

  • After the injury to the starting quarterback, the second string was called to take his place.

  • The team practiced plays with both the first string and the second string to prepare for the season.

Synonyms

bench
vssecond string
117 3.6

Players not playing who wait to be used as substitutes

is focused on the group used to replace starting members during games

Antonyms

first-string
5 6.0

A main player who regularly starts games and is not a substitute

How Preferred

star player
13 2.0
first-string
5 6.0
second string
2 4.7
reserve
112 3.7

Surface Forms

second string singular
second strings plural

Morphology

2nd + string

The element 'second' clearly signals a following or subordinate group and 'string' can be interpreted as a grouping or lineup, so a learner could infer 'the second group' of players. However, the specific sports sense of 'second string' as the backup/substitute players is a figurative, domain-specific extension of 'string' and is not fully predictable from the basic word senses alone, making the phrase only partially transparent.

Etymology

The noun second string may come from the image of a team standing in lines: the starters form the first string, and the players behind them form the second string. So, second string means the group of 'substitute players' who are ready to replace the starters.