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second hand

second hand

19 2.2
Not new, bought from someone who owned it before
  • adverb
translation icon : de segunda mano
  • I picked it up second-hand.
  • second-hand cars
  • second-hand smoke
  • imported second hand

You can get it second hand if you wake up early.

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Examples

  • And then the third option and last one really is shopping second hand from a reliable store or online shop.

  • You can get it second hand if you wake up early.

  • Excuse me, sir, but will the beds be second hand?

  • You can take it to the second hand furniture shop in Irish town.

  • So when selling clothes to second hand shops, I think it's best to make the buyer's job as easy as possible.

  • We do not deal in second-hand goods.

  • So I've thought about buying one second hand, but like what's the point?

  • Perhaps the most economical way is to purchase a second-hand laptop computer.

    Academic text (2005)
  • In 1988, most garment factories in Accra were closed due to cheap imports and second-hand clothing.

    Academic text (1991)
  • You can save a lot of money by buying a second hand laptop instead of a new one.

Synonyms

secondhand
vssecond hand
9 2.5

Owned and used before by someone else

is the same meaning but written as two separate words
used
vssecond hand
1.0

Owned by someone else before

refers specifically to acquiring such items from a prior owner

Antonyms

new
1.0

In original condition and never used before

How New

brand-new
321 1.2
new
1.0
second hand
19 2.2
worn
4 2.1
battered
3.7

Surface Forms

second hand positive

Morphology

2nd + hand

A learner who knows 'second' (another, following the first) and 'hand' (source/possession/agency) can partially infer that 'second hand' involves something coming via another person rather than directly. However, the specific idiomatic sense 'indirectly; not firsthand' (and the related sense 'used' for goods) is lexicalized and somewhat conventional, so the exact meaning is not fully predictable from the parts alone.

Etymology

The adjective/adverb second hand comes from the simple image of an object being in a second person's hand instead of the maker's. That's why second hand means something owned before, not new.