0%

second fiddle

sec·ond fid·dle
S s

Transcription

    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • [sek-uh nd fid-l]
    • /ˈsɛk ənd ˈfɪd l/
    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • [sek-uh nd fid-l]
    • /ˈsɛk ənd ˈfɪd l/

Definitions of second fiddle words

  • noun second fiddle a secondary role: to play second fiddle to another person. 1
  • noun second fiddle a person serving in a subsidiary capacity, especially to one immediately superior. 1
  • noun second fiddle the second violin in a string quartet or one of the second violins in an orchestra 0
  • noun second fiddle the musical part assigned to such an instrument 0
  • noun second fiddle a secondary status 0
  • noun second fiddle a person who has a secondary status 0

Information block about the term

Origin of second fiddle

First appearance:

before 1825
One of the 37% newest English words
First recorded in 1825-35

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Second fiddle

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation

second fiddle popularity

A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 34% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.
According to our data most of word are more popular. This word is almost not used. It has a much more popular synonym.

second fiddle usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for second fiddle

adj second fiddle

  • deficient — If someone or something is deficient in a particular thing, they do not have the full amount of it that they need in order to function normally or work properly.
  • flawed — characterized by flaws; having imperfections: a flawed gem; a seriously flawed piece of work.

noun second fiddle

See also

Matching words

Was this page helpful?
Yes No
Thank you for your feedback! Tell your friends about this page
Tell us why?