secondhand
not directly known or experienced; obtained from others or from books: Most of our knowledge is secondhand.
previously used or owned: secondhand clothes.
dealing in previously used goods: a secondhand bookseller.
after another user or owner: He bought it secondhand.
indirectly; at second hand: He heard the news secondhand.
Origin of secondhand
1Other words from secondhand
- sec·ond·hand·ed·ness, noun
Other definitions for second hand (2 of 2)
the hand that indicates the seconds on a clock or watch.
an assistant or helper, as to a worker or foreman.
Origin of second hand
2Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use secondhand in a sentence
But the amount of second-hand evidence, Vieira says, is too great to believe that nothing more solid will show up.
When I was ten, I saved enough money to buy a second-hand book called Tarzan of the Apes.
The ground floors are occupied by shops of second-hand dealers, and by iron workers.
Read ‘The King in Yellow,’ the ‘True Detective’ Reference That’s the Key to the Show | Robert W. Chambers | February 20, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTFor warmth she wore some kind of white fur wrap she had found months ago at a second-hand store in New York.
The defense objected to the second-hand testimony and the nine-man, seven-woman jury was ushered from the room.
The Man Who Confronted Edwards About His Dangerous Infidelity Game | Diane Dimond | May 5, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
On his head was the second-hand hat of some parvenu's coachman, gold lace, cockade and all.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3) | Charles James WillsAnd he would cower in the background blushing his absurd little blushes at his second-hand temerity.
Blazed Trail Stories | Stewart Edward WhiteThe librarian told me I'd never find a copy, and this was on top of a pile of trash in a second-hand shop right here in this town.
A Hoosier Chronicle | Meredith NicholsonAt his cell door the Red Fox stood with his watch in his hand and his eyes glued to the second-hand.
The Trail of the Lonesome Pine | John Fox, Jr.Tarbell, through his hold upon the welshing Clanahan striker, had got the details at second-hand.
The Wreckers | Francis Lynde
British Dictionary definitions for second hand (1 of 2)
a pointer on the face of a timepiece that indicates the seconds: Compare hour hand, minute hand
British Dictionary definitions for second-hand (2 of 2)
previously owned or used
not from an original source or experience
dealing in or selling goods that are not new: a second-hand car dealer
from a source of previously owned or used goods: he prefers to buy second-hand
not directly: he got the news second-hand
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with secondhand
see at second hand.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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