second
Use Second in a sentence
ənd adjective
1.
next after the first; being the ordinal number for two.
2.
being the latter of two equal parts.
3.
next after the first in place, time, or value: the second house from the corner.
4.
next after the first in rank, grade, degree, status, or importance: the second person in the company.
5.
alternate: I have my hair cut every second week.
6.
7.
Grammar. noting or pertaining to the second person.
8.
Music. being the lower of two parts for the same instrument or voice: second horn; second alto.
9.
other or another: a second Solomon.
10.
Automotive. of, pertaining to, or operating at the gear transmission ratio at which drive shaft speed is greater than that of low gear but not so great as that of other gears for a given engine crankshaft speed: second gear.
noun
11.
a second part.
12.
the second member of a series.
13.
a person who aids or supports another; assistant; backer.
14.
Boxing. a person who, between rounds of a prizefight, gives aid, advice, etc., to a boxer.
15.
a person who serves as a representative or attendant of a duelist.
16.
Automotive. second gear.
17.
a person or thing that is next after the first in place, time, or value.
18.
a person or thing that is next after the first in rank, grade, degree, status, or importance.
19.
Usually, seconds. an additional helping of food: He had seconds on the meat and potatoes.
20.
a.
a person who expresses formal support of a motion so that it may be discussed or put to a vote.
b.
an act or instance of doing this.
21.
(in certain British universities) a type or grade of college degree granted according to a student's performance on specific written and oral examinations.
22.
Music.
a.
a tone on the next degree from a given tone.
b.
the interval between such tones.
c.
the harmonic combination of such tones.
d.
the lower of two parts in a piece of concerted music.
e.
a voice or instrument performing such a part.
f.
an alto.
23.
24.
Metallurgy. a piece of somewhat defective but salable tin plate.
25.
Baseball. second base.
00:10
Second
is always a great word to know.
So is pound sign. Does it mean:
| a paragraph mark. |
| the symbol (#) used for various purposes. |
verb (used with object)
26.
to assist or support.
27.
to further or advance, as aims.
28.
(in parliamentary procedure) to express formal support of (a motion, proposal, etc.), as a necessary preliminary to further discussion or to voting.
29.
to act as second to (a boxer, duelist, etc.).
adverb
30.
in the second place, group, etc.; secondly: The catcher is batting second.
Origin:
1250–1300; Middle English (adj., noun and adv.) < Old French (adj.) < Latin secundus following, next, second, equivalent to sec- (base of sequī to follow) + -undus adj. suffix
1250–1300; Middle English (adj., noun and adv.) < Old French (adj.) < Latin secundus following, next, second, equivalent to sec- (base of sequī to follow) + -undus adj. suffix
Related forms
sec·ond·er, noun
Synonyms
13. aide, helper, agent, deputy.
13. aide, helper, agent, deputy.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
noun
1.
the sixtieth part of a minute of time.
2.
a moment or instant: It takes only a second to phone.
3.
the basic unit of time in the International System of Units, equal to the duration of 9,192,631,770 cycles of radiation in a transition, or energy level change, of the cesium atom. Symbol: s, S; Abbreviation: sec
4.
Geometry, Astronomy. the sixtieth part of a minute of angular measure, often represented by the sign ″, as in 30″, which is read as 30 seconds. Compare angle1 ( def 1c ).
Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English seconde < Middle French < Medieval Latin secunda (minūta) second (minute), feminine of secundus second1
1350–1400; Middle English seconde < Middle French < Medieval Latin secunda (minūta) second (minute), feminine of secundus second1
Synonyms
2. jiffy, trice, wink, flash.
2. jiffy, trice, wink, flash.
verb (used with object)
British. to transfer (an officer, official, or the like) temporarily to another post.
Origin:
1795–1805; < French second, noun use of the adj. in the phrase en second, as in lieutenant en second second lieutenant; see second1
1795–1805; < French second, noun use of the adj. in the phrase en second, as in lieutenant en second second lieutenant; see second1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To second
Collins
World English Dictionary
second1 (ˈsɛkənd) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —adj | |
| 1. | a. coming directly after the first in numbering or counting order, position, time, etc; being the ordinal number of two: often written 2nd |
| b. (as noun): the second in line | |
| 2. | rated, graded, or ranked between the first and third levels |
| 3. | alternate: every second Thursday |
| 4. | additional; extra: a second opportunity |
| 5. | resembling a person or event from an earlier period of history; unoriginal: a second Wagner |
| 6. | of lower quality; inferior: belonging to the second class |
| 7. | denoting the lowest but one forward ratio of a gearbox in a motor vehicle |
| 8. | music |
| a. relating to or denoting a musical part, voice, or instrument lower in pitch than another part, voice, or instrument (the first): the second tenors | |
| b. of or relating to a part, instrument, or instrumentalist regarded as subordinate to another (the first): the second flute | |
| 9. | at second hand by hearsay |
| —n | |
| 10. | (Brit) education Full term: second-class honours degree an honours degree of the second class, usually further divided into an upper and lower designation |
| 11. | the lowest but one forward ratio of a gearbox in a motor vehicle: he changed into second on the bend |
| 12. | (in boxing, duelling, etc) an attendant who looks after a competitor |
| 13. | a speech seconding a motion or the person making it |
| 14. | music |
| a. the interval between one note and another lying next above or below it in the diatonic scale | |
| b. minor major See also interval one of two notes constituting such an interval in relation to the other | |
| 15. | (plural) goods of inferior quality |
| 16. | informal (plural) a second helping of food |
| 17. | (plural) the second course of a meal |
| —vb | |
| 18. | to give aid or backing to |
| 19. | (in boxing, etc) to act as second to (a competitor) |
| 20. | to make a speech or otherwise express formal support for (a motion already proposed) |
| —adv | |
| 21. | Also: secondly in the second place |
| —sentence connector | |
| 22. | Also: secondly as the second point: linking what follows with the previous statement |
| [C13: via Old French from Latin secundus coming next in order, from sequī to follow] | |
| 'seconder1 | |
| —n | |
| second2 (ˈsɛkənd) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | a. 1/60 of a minute of time |
| b. s the basic SI unit of time: the duration of 9 192 631 770 periods of radiation corresponding to the transition between two hyperfine levels of the ground state of caesium-133 | |
| 2. | ″ 1/60 of a minute of angle |
| 3. | a very short period of time; moment |
| [C14: from Old French, from Medieval Latin pars minūta secunda the second small part (a minute being the first small part of an hour); see | |
| second3 (sɪˈkɒnd) | |
| —vb | |
| 1. | to transfer (an employee) temporarily to another branch, etc |
| 2. | military to transfer (an officer) to another post, often retiring him to a staff or nonregimental position |
| [C19: from French en second in second rank (or position)] | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
second
"after first," c.1300, from O.Fr. second, from L. secundus "following, next in order," from root of sequi "follow" (see sequel). Replaced native other (q.v.) in this sense because of the ambiguousness of the earlier word. Second-hand is from 1474;
second-rate is from 1669, originally of ships (see rate); second sight is from 1616; an etymologically perverse term, since it means in reality the sight of events before, not after, they occur. Second fiddle first attested 1809.
second
"one-sixtieth of a minute," late 14c., from O.Fr. seconde, from M.L. secunda, short for secunda pars minuta "second diminished part," the result of the second division of the hour by sixty (the first being the "prime minute," now called the minute), from L. secunda, fem. of secundus (see
second (adj.)). Shortened form sec first recorded 1860.
second
"to further, to support," 1586, "to support or represent in a duel, fight, etc.," from M.Fr. seconder, from L. secundare "to assist, make favorable," from secundus "assisting, favorable, following, second" (see second (adj.)). the noun in this sense is first recorded 1590.
The verb in the parliamentary sense is first recorded 1597.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary
second sec·ond2 (sěk'ənd)
adj.
Coming next after the first in order, place, rank, time, or quality.
Being the next closest to the innermost digit, especially on the foot.
sec'ond n.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
second (sěk'ənd) Pronunciation Key
|
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases
second
In addition to the idioms beginning with second, also see at second hand; come off (second best); in a flash (second); in the first (second) place; on second thought; play second fiddle; split second; top (second) banana.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia
second
fundamental unit of time, now defined in terms of the radiation frequency at which atoms of the element cesium change from one state to another.
Learn more about second with a free trial on Britannica.com.
Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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Example sentences
Soon, there were other rooms adjoining the old travel trailer, then a second story with a patio and tiny third floor.
Most tend to be biennials, but some can be coaxed into a second year of bloom if spent flowers are removed before they set seed.
You're ready for a serious road bike but not a second mortgage.
The second-growth forest that squirrel monkeys prefer for the plentiful soft fruits and insects is rapidly disappearing.
Idioms & Phrases
Nearby Words
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