second
2
5.8
- noun
- /ˈsɛkənd/
- Formal
- The second indicates influence, which is not necessarily officially sanctioned, although it too is regulated through social norms.
Examples
-
The second is engaging each of them in a continuous improvement process of his or her own.
Academic text (2003) -
Do I hear a second on that?
-
The second is that little or no contribution to the debate itself is offered by the machine.
Academic text (2017) -
The second urges us to break the myth and to follow the demand of conscience.
Academic text (1991) -
Before we proceed with the discussion, may I have a second to this proposal?
-
The chairperson asked if anyone would like to second the motion to increase the budget.
-
During the meeting, she made a new suggestion and quickly received a second from a fellow member.
Idioms
- Informal
8
6.0
A person who has a less important role and helps someone more important
Compounds
27
2.8
A child of your parent's first cousin who shares your great-grandparents but not your grandparents
18
4.4
A player who stands near second base and catches or throws the ball to get runners out
12
6.0
A junior officer with the lowest rank in the Army, Air Force, or Marine Corps
6
6.3
A meeting of Catholic Church leaders from 1962 to 1965 that changed worship and encouraged talks with other Christian churches
- Specialized
6
7.0
Energy naturally spreads from hot places to cold ones, increasing disorder
4
4.1
A measure of speed that shows how many kilometers something moves in one second
4
5.0
An upper seating area at the back of a theatre with the least expensive seats
3
4.3
A woman who cares for someone like a mother, often with or instead of their own mother
- Specialized
3
3.0
Words that refer to the person or people you speak to, for example 'you'
- Specialized
1
7.9
A stomach part in animals like cows that helps break down plant food
- Archaic
1
7.7
A period in old age when mental decline makes a person behave like a young child
- Specialized
1
2.8
A unit that shows how many small pieces of information called bits are sent every second
- Specialized
1
4.7
A rule that says how a force makes an object move faster depending on its mass
- Specialized
1
4.5
A rule that a force changes an object's motion more when the force is bigger or the object is lighter
- Specialized
1
6.7
The distance light travels in one second in empty space, about 300,000 kilometers
- Jargon
1
6.5
A system or tool that stores information to help you remember and organize things
- Specialized
1
6.8
An extra second added to clocks so they match how fast the Earth turns
1
8.9
A war between China and Japan from 1894 to 1895 that ended in a clear Japanese victory
1
8.8
A military campaign by European Christians in the 1100s to take back the Holy Land that failed because leaders fought
- Specialized
1
4.4
A unit for measuring how fast a computer processor runs, equal to one million instructions per second
1
9.9
A church meeting in 787 that stopped destroying religious images and allowed their use in worship
Surface Forms
Etymology
Second for a formal show of support comes from the idea of being the 'second' person to back a motion, so a second is someone who comes after the proposer to agree and allow the matter to move forward.