Word for "temporarily defeated"
I am looking for a word that expresses the meaning of the phrase "temporarily defeated" in a mild manner. This is to be applied on someone whose bid got displaced by a higher bidder in an auction that has not yet ended.
The <temporarily defeated> bidder...
Perhaps trailing
(intransitive) to be falling behind in a race or competition: the favourite is trailing at the last fence
It has the advantage of suggesting that a rally may occur.
In this instance, you could use "overtaken"
The overtaken bidder
Which means that someone else out-bid them, but that they still could retake their place as the highest bidder.
Overtake
o·ver·take [oh-ver-teyk]
verb (used with object), o·ver·took, o·ver·tak·en, o·ver·tak·ing.
- to catch up with in traveling or pursuit; draw even with: By taking a cab to the next town, we managed to overtake and board the train.
- to catch up with and pass, as in a race; move by: He overtook the leader three laps from the finish.
- to move ahead of in achievement, production, score, etc.; surpass: to overtake all other countries in steel production.
- to happen to or befall someone suddenly or unexpectedly, as night, a storm, or death: The pounding rainstorm overtook them just outside the city.
verb (used without object), o·ver·took, o·ver·tak·en, o·ver·tak·ing.
- to pass another vehicle: Never overtake on a curve.
A temporary setback, might suggest a sort of pause in the bidding .. With the bidder going to come back more resolute.