sec·ond·hand
ˈse-kən(d)-ˈhand 
1
a
: received from or through an intermediary : borrowed
b
: derivative
secondhand ideas
2
a
: acquired after being used by another : not new
secondhand books
b
: dealing in secondhand merchandise
a secondhand bookstore
1
: at second hand : indirectly
heard about it secondhand
2
: as a secondhand item
bought the couch secondhand
: an intermediate person or means : intermediary
—usually used in the phrase at second hand
: the hand marking seconds on a timepiece
Synonyms
Examples of secondhand in a Sentence
Adjective
a dealer in secondhand furniture
He's always haunting the secondhand shops for bargains.
Recent Examples on the Web
Patricia Shannon, Southern Living, 6 Jan. 2025
In September, Greenpeace Africa launched a petition to regulate the secondhand clothing market in Ghana, alongside a report which found that 500,000 items of unsold clothing from the market are dumped in open spaces and unofficial landfill sites in the country every week.
—Olivia Pinnock, Forbes, 6 Jan. 2025
Ebony-Renee Baker, refinery29.com, 27 Mar. 2024
That’s because Truss uses AI to decrease the amount of time needed to classify and identify products being sold secondhand.
—Meghan Hall, Sourcing Journal, 3 Sep. 2019
Chris Hall, WIRED, 10 Dec. 2024
Here, West can’t lose anything and may gain by playing his king, second hand high, on the first club.
—Frank Stewart, The Mercury News, 16 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for secondhand 
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Adjective
Hammel also urges amateur secondhand sleuths to keep an open mind.
—Patricia Shannon, Southern Living, 6 Jan. 2025
In September, Greenpeace Africa launched a petition to regulate the secondhand clothing market in Ghana, alongside a report which found that 500,000 items of unsold clothing from the market are dumped in open spaces and unofficial landfill sites in the country every week.
—Olivia Pinnock, Forbes, 6 Jan. 2025
Adverb
Finding it secondhand was just the icing on the cake.
—Ebony-Renee Baker, refinery29.com, 27 Mar. 2024
That’s because Truss uses AI to decrease the amount of time needed to classify and identify products being sold secondhand.
—Meghan Hall, Sourcing Journal, 3 Sep. 2019
Noun
The chronograph second hand, as is customary, is centrally mounted and on this watch bears a varnished orange airplane shape at its tip.
—Chris Hall, WIRED, 10 Dec. 2024
Here, West can’t lose anything and may gain by playing his king, second hand high, on the first club.
—Frank Stewart, The Mercury News, 16 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for secondhand
Dictionary Entries Near secondhand
Cite this Entry
“Secondhand.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/secondhand. Accessed 15 Jan. 2025.
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