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
Words Nearby secondhand
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
Online marketplace for secondhand luxury goods Poshmark, pet supply retailer Petco Animal Supplies, mobile game developer Playtika and auto service and supply company Driven Brands Holdings are all on deck to go public.
Online lender Affirm gets $12 billion valuation in IPO | Verne Kopytoff | January 13, 2021 | FortuneThese services are particularly popular in China’s maturing secondhand luxury market.
Buying secondhand clothing could provide consumers a way to push back against the fast-fashion system.
Secondhand Clothing Sales Are Booming – And May Help Solve The Sustainability Crisis In The Fashion Industry | LGBTQ-Editor | November 25, 2020 | No Straight NewsResearch shows that journaling about both negative and positive emotions can ward off secondhand stress and improve mental health.
Six ways adults can help children make sense of a divisive election | Phyllis Fagell | October 29, 2020 | Washington PostLechman said she too initially heard about her clients’ sicknesses secondhand – through family members or other attorneys with clients in the same housing units.
Docs, Witnesses Say Lax Procedures Fueled Virus Spread in Federal Jail | Maya Srikrishnan | September 28, 2020 | Voice of San Diego
The last film most people probably remember of his was the underwhelming sexagenarian comedy secondhand Lions back in 2003.
“I think if anybody saw real fame first or secondhand, they would not want to pursue it at all,” says a somber Culkin.
The Revival of Kieran Culkin: A Reluctant Star Seizes the Spotlight | Marlow Stern | October 23, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTBut recently—more than three decades after my initial reading—I picked up a secondhand copy of the out-of-print book.
Gordon picked up a pair secondhand and began to stencil then onto blank canvases with spray paint.
Kim Gordon: Going Solo After Sonic Youth, and Why She Identifies With ‘Girls’ | Andrew Romano | April 10, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTHowever studies have found dangerous compounds like benzene and formaldehyde in inhaled or secondhand vapor.
E-Cigarettes, Facing Ban, Still Figuring Out What They Want to Be | Alex Halperin | December 19, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTHowever, at secondhand, the details very shortly reached him.
From Place to Place | Irvin S. CobbA secondhand copy would be interesting not only for its material but for the price it would fetch.
Recollections of Calcutta for over Half a Century | Montague MasseyThen there is a large, more or less cultured, public that know something of the science at secondhand through books.
The Astronomy of the Bible | E. Walter MaunderIt has already been pointed out that language is a means through which we can get experience secondhand.
The Science of Human Nature | William Henry PyleVery good furniture can sometimes be obtained secondhand, but one must be on their guard against "bargains" that are worthless.
How to be Happy Though Married | E. J. Hardy.
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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