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second

second

6.1
A low gear in a vehicle used for slower speed or climbing hills
  • noun
  • /ˈsɛkənd/
  • Specialized
translation icon : segunda marcha
  • The mechanic explained that to climb steep hills, the car should be in second gear for better traction.

Just make, make, make the VW van only start in second gear.

Examples

  • Instead, manual simply allows the car to start in second gear for cold and icy starts.

  • Dawn was coming after her at two hundred and sixty-seven meters per second, and she and her baby were without radiation armor.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • When driving uphill, it's best to shift into second gear to maintain speed without straining the engine.

  • For a smoother ride at moderate speeds, you should use second gear when navigating through the city.

Synonyms

second gear
vssecond
3 2.5

A car setting used after first for low to medium speed and more power

is the shorter single word used for the same transmission position

Antonyms

3 2.8

A gear in a car that makes the car move slowly when you start

Idioms

75 1.2

Ask someone to wait for a short time

After thinking again, you change your mind

second nature
  • Informal
15 3.5

A habit or skill that feels automatic after a lot of practice

second fiddle
  • Informal
8 6.0

A person who has a less important role and helps someone more important

1 2.5

All the time without stopping

1 3.5

Time is very important when you need help fast

Compounds

223 2.3

An opportunity to try again after making a mistake

160 1.6

The later part of a game after halftime

Doubts or a change of mind about a decision you already made

A worldwide war from 1939 to 1945 between the Allies and the Axis

46 2.4

A student in their second year at high school or university

43 2.5

A very short moment when something happens

A thought that makes you doubt or change a decision you already made

A person who helps the leader and takes charge if they are away

23 4.4

Not as good as the best, often cheap or simple

21 2.8

A child of your parent's first cousin who shares your great-grandparents but not your grandparents

19 2.2

Not new, bought from someone who owned it before

16 4.4

A player who stands near second base and catches or throws the ball to get runners out

16 8.0

A stage in a relationship when people touch above the waist

Another language a person learns after their native language

second mortgage
  • Specialized
15 4.9

An extra loan on a house that already has a mortgage

12 3.7

Next in quality or rank after the best

11 2.7

The part of a sports game that comes after the first part

10 3.7

The second of four bases a runner touches when running to score

The return of Jesus Christ to earth to judge people at the end of the world

9 4.2

A player who stands near second base and catches or stops ground balls

second-degree burn
  • Specialized
9 3.4

A skin injury that causes painful blisters and redness

8 1.8

A person or team that finishes second in a competition

second wind
  • Informal
8 4.2

A new burst of energy that lets you keep going when you are tired

second trimester
  • Specialized
8 3.1

A period of pregnancy from week 13 to week 27

One of thirty-two equal parts of a whole

6 2.6

The hand on a clock that shows seconds

A junior officer with the lowest rank in the Army, Air Force, or Marine Corps

second person
  • Specialized
6 3.0

Words that refer to the person or people you speak to, for example 'you'

5 3.3

Information received through another person rather than directly

A meeting of Catholic Church leaders from 1962 to 1965 that changed worship and encouraged talks with other Christian churches

A result when someone comes second in a competition

A measure of speed that shows how many kilometers something moves in one second

second banana
  • Informal
4 7.6

A person who supports the main performer, often in comedy

4 3.2

Cheaper seats or rooms on transport with fewer services than first class

4 7.0

Energy naturally spreads from hot places to cold ones, increasing disorder

3 2.5

A car setting used after first for low to medium speed and more power

second sight
  • Literature
3 9.9

To see or know things before they happen

A shop that sells used things at low prices

2 4.1

A unit for frequency equal to one complete cycle in one second

2 7.7

The second time lawmakers discuss and vote on a proposed law

A woman who cares for someone like a mother, often with or instead of their own mother

A group of players who replace the usual starters during a game

Christians believe Jesus will return to earth to judge people

1 7.7

A period in old age when mental decline makes a person behave like a young child

second deck
  • Specialized
1 6.0

An upper covered area that runs the full length of a large ship

A player who does not usually play but replaces others when needed

1 7.5

A player who usually sits on the bench and replaces others during games

1 1.0

Coming after the forty-first in a series

leap second
  • Specialized
1 6.8

An extra second added to clocks so they match how fast the Earth turns

1 3.0

By a cheaper travel or mail service that is slower than first class

1 3.8

A category below the highest level in rank or quality

A young forest that came back after the original trees were cut or burned

second power
  • Specialized
1 3.2

The result of multiplying a number by itself

bits per second
  • Specialized
1 2.8

A unit that shows how many small pieces of information called bits are sent every second

Newton's second law
  • Specialized
1 3.4

A rule that shows how force, mass and acceleration relate

The return of Jesus Christ to earth to judge all people

second-rater
  • Offensive
1 8.2

A person who is not as good as others at their work

two-second rule
  • Informal
1 5.3

A belief that food dropped on the floor for less than two seconds is still safe to eat

A measure of how many billion math calculations a computer does each second

ampere-second
  • Specialized
5.5

A unit of electric charge equal to one coulomb

Euclid's second axiom
  • Specialized
9.9

A rule that you can extend any straight line without end in both directions

A very distant relative who shares an ancestor 42 generations back

7.2

A unit equal to one thousand cycles per second, now called kilohertz

light second
  • Specialized
6.7

The distance light travels in one second in empty space, about 300,000 kilometers

6.2

A unit equal to one million cycles per second for measuring radio frequencies

A measure of how fast a computer does one million math calculations each second

A unit for measuring how fast a computer processor runs, equal to one million instructions per second

4.9

A measure of cycles per second equal to one billion

Kepler's second law
  • Specialized
7.9

A planet's line to the sun covers equal areas in equal times

A rule that a force changes an object's motion more when the force is bigger or the object is lighter

One of thirty-two equal parts of a whole

A Christian group that believes Christ will return soon

A person who belongs to a Christian group that believes Christ will return soon

How Fast

third
7 3.6
second
  • Specialized
6.1
first
5.4

Surface Forms

second singular
seconds plural

Etymology

Second for a gear in a car is named for its place in order: it is the gear that comes 'after the first', so putting the car in second gives more speed than first but less than higher gears.