second-hand
[adjective]
Synonyms:
- used, hand-me-down (informal), nearly new
[adverb]
Synonyms:
- indirectly

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. ˈsecond ˌhand¹ noun [countable]
the long thin piece of metal that points to the seconds on a clock or watch

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. second ˈhand² adverb

1. if you get something second hand, it is not new and has been used by other people before
get/buy something second hand
We got most of our furniture second hand.

2. if you hear something second hand, the person who tells you is not the person who originally said it:
It may not be true – I only heard it second hand.

3. if you experience something second hand, you experience it through other people, rather than directly
⇒ (at) first hand at first¹(8)

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

ˌsecond-ˈhand , sec‧ond‧hand /ˌsekəndˈhænd◂/ adjective

1. second-hand things are not new when you get them, because they were owned by someone else before you:
second-hand clothes
a second-hand car
secondhand store/shop etc (=a shop that sells second-hand things)

2. second-hand information or knowledge is told to you by someone who is not the person who originally said it – used to show disapproval Antonym : first-hand
second-hand reports/accounts
second-hand accounts of mass killings

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

second hand
not new, used by someone else
We went to a second-hand bookstore to look for the books.

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲