as in secondhand
owned or used by someone after it had been owned or used by someone else
—used especially of clothing
He was wearing an old, hand-me-down jacket.
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Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of hand-me-down
J. David McSwane, ProPublica, 7 Dec. 2024
Her queen-size bed is a hand-me-down from a friend.
—Lisa Boone, Los Angeles Times, 4 Dec. 2024
Recently, my friend told me that her best friend was offended that she wasn’t given these hand-me-downs instead of me.
—Judith Martin, The Mercury News, 14 Nov. 2024
Sure to last for years and years, this is the ultimate hand-me-down.
—Toby Rose, Parents, 24 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for hand-me-down 
Adjective
Her uniforms were hand-me-downs from his older daughter.
—J. David McSwane, ProPublica, 7 Dec. 2024
Her queen-size bed is a hand-me-down from a friend.
—Lisa Boone, Los Angeles Times, 4 Dec. 2024
Recently, my friend told me that her best friend was offended that she wasn’t given these hand-me-downs instead of me.
—Judith Martin, The Mercury News, 14 Nov. 2024
Sure to last for years and years, this is the ultimate hand-me-down.
—Toby Rose, Parents, 24 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for hand-me-down
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hand-me-down
Adjective
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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
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Hammel also urges amateur secondhand sleuths to keep an open mind.Patricia Shannon, Southern Living, 6 Jan. 2025
Noun
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But more often than not, Maye nullified that pressure with his legs, a short throw or a throwaway.Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 19 Nov. 2024
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But unlike the Super Heavy-Starship, the SLS is a throwaway, expendable booster expected to cost some $1.4 billion for each of its first four moon missions.William Harwood, CBS News, 4 Dec. 2024
Noun
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Most clothes made of recycled materials use post-consumer plastic bottles or fabric scraps — an important element of textile recycling, but not a sufficient answer to pollution from fashion.Lewis Perkins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Jan. 2025
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Here’s City writer, Sam Lee, who has gorged and feasted upon trophies galore in recent years, while the rest of us dine on scraps (or the Sela Cup, in my case).George Caulkin, The Athletic, 8 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near hand-me-down
Cite this Entry
“Hand-me-down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hand-me-down. Accessed 20 Jan. 2025.
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