godan verb (-gu), intransitive verb
follow; come after; rank next
Intransitive verb indicating something is next in order, rank, or sequence. Often used in the pattern 〜に次ぐ or 〜に次いで.
東京に次ぐ大都市は大阪だ。
The largest city after Tokyo is Osaka.
彼は社長に次ぐ地
He holds a position second only to the president.