"come off second best" meaning in English

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "comes off second best",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "coming off second best",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "came off second best",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "come off second best",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "come<,,came,come> off second best",
        "head": "come off second best"
      },
      "expansion": "come off second best (third-person singular simple present comes off second best, present participle coming off second best, simple past came off second best, past participle come off second best)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Entries with translation boxes",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with German translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1950 March, Michael Robbins, “Dr. Lardner's \"Railway Economy\"”, in Railway Magazine, page 153:",
          "text": "He was elected to the chair of Natural Philosophy and Astronomy in 1827 at the newly-founded London University, and became prominent in railway controversies in the 'thirties, when he came off second best in a dispute with Daniel Gooch about the effects of speed on the human frame.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To be defeated in competition; be on the losing side."
      ],
      "id": "en-come_off_second_best-en-verb-nw3HN-Fp",
      "links": [
        [
          "defeat",
          "defeat"
        ],
        [
          "competition",
          "competition"
        ],
        [
          "losing",
          "lose"
        ],
        [
          "side",
          "side"
        ]
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "word": "second best"
        }
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "Translations",
          "word": "zweiter Sieger bleiben/werden"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "come off second best"
}

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "comes off second best",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "coming off second best",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "came off second best",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "come off second best",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "come<,,came,come> off second best",
        "head": "come off second best"
      },
      "expansion": "come off second best (third-person singular simple present comes off second best, present participle coming off second best, simple past came off second best, past participle come off second best)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "second best"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English verbs",
        "Entries with translation boxes",
        "Pages with 1 entry",
        "Pages with entries",
        "Terms with German translations",
        "Translation table header lacks gloss"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1950 March, Michael Robbins, “Dr. Lardner's \"Railway Economy\"”, in Railway Magazine, page 153:",
          "text": "He was elected to the chair of Natural Philosophy and Astronomy in 1827 at the newly-founded London University, and became prominent in railway controversies in the 'thirties, when he came off second best in a dispute with Daniel Gooch about the effects of speed on the human frame.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To be defeated in competition; be on the losing side."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "defeat",
          "defeat"
        ],
        [
          "competition",
          "competition"
        ],
        [
          "losing",
          "lose"
        ],
        [
          "side",
          "side"
        ]
      ]
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "Translations",
      "word": "zweiter Sieger bleiben/werden"
    }
  ],
  "word": "come off second best"
}