Sports .

(in a race) a contestant who fails to win or to place among the first three finishers.

an athlete or team whose performance in competition is rarely, if ever, a winning or near-winning one.

Informal . a person who loses a contest, election, or other competition.

Informal . a person who attains little or no success

For every great artist there are a thousand also-rans.

noun

defeated player , failure , loser , nonstarter , unsuccessful candidate , unsuccessful personnotes:in horse racing results , there is win , place , show , and also-ran