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number two

number two

135 3.7
Someone or something that is second in order
  • noun
  • /ˈnʌmbər tu/
translation icon : número dos
  • After the election, she became the number two leader in the party's hierarchy.

And so, you know, she became Public Enemy number two.

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Examples

  • We all knew that if something were to happen with Joe Biden, the number two person on that ticket is Kamala Harris.

  • They Square is now, I believe the number two largest purchaser of Bitcoin because people use Square Cash App to buy Bitcoin.

  • All others are number two or lower.

  • We'll call you number two.

  • I was their number one son, and they treated me like number two.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • The Associated Press ranked Ohio State as number one in 1942, with Georgia number two.

    Academic text (2014)
  • Tendai BT, the number two in the MDC party, has been arrested for treason.

  • Gulden's mustard has traditionally been the number two mustard in America.

  • He was promoted to the number two position in the company, just behind the CEO.

  • In the race, he finished in number two place, just behind the reigning champion.

Synonyms

2nd
vsnumber two
804 1.0

Next after the first in position, time, or order

is the same rank idea but usually written in full words rather than symbols
second
vsnumber two
63 1.0

A person or thing that comes after the first in a sequence

includes rank and importance as well as simple sequence position
second-best
vsnumber two
12 3.7

Next in quality or rank after the best

applies more broadly to the next in rank and importance, not only quality

How Important

number one
436 1.7
number two
135 3.7
also-ran
2 7.9

Surface Forms

number two singular
number twos plural

Morphology

number + two

The meaning is directly compositional: 'number' (position/count) combined with 'two' clearly denotes the second position or person. This numeric/ordinal logic is cross-linguistically common and a B1 learner who knows the constituents will readily infer the intended sense (e.g., second-in-command or second place).

Etymology

Number two comes from lists and menus where things are given a number, so the item marked two is the one in the second position. That's why number two means 'the person or thing that is second', whether in a race, on a menu, or as 'second in command'.