Used for ordinal position, ranking, or the second item in a sequence. Can refer to a person or thing that is second best or the runner-up in a competition.
I forgot the second verse of the song.
He came in second in the marathon.
The second question was the hardest.
He came in second in the marathon.
一番 means 'first' or 'number one', the direct ordinal opposite of 二番 'second'.
二番目 explicitly marks ordinal position ('the second one in a series'), whereas 二番 is often used as a plain label (e.g. the second verse of a song, a sumo bout number) without emphasizing sequence.
rehash; boring rerun; stale imitation · second brew of tea
second crop
double dip; double-dip recession; second bottom; double bottom
second star of the evening
second (in a series)
Standard kanji spelling; high frequency in news and general use.
Numerical variant common in lists, rankings, and informal writing.
Compound of 二 (ni, 'two') and 番 (ban, 'number' or 'order').
rematch after a long bout