second
/ˈsɛk.ənd/ adjective, adverb, noun, verb
Forms seconds seconding seconded 2nd 2ⁿᵈ 2d 2ᵈ IInd II II. s sec arcsec
- adjective Number-two; following after the first one with nothing between them. The ordinal number corresponding to the cardinal number two. “He lives on Second Street.”
- adjective Next to the first in value, power, excellence, dignity, or rank; secondary; subordinate; inferior. “His job is second priority, because his family is the most important thing in his life.”
- adjective Being of the same kind as one that has preceded; another. “Residents of Texas prepared for Hurricane Harvey, which would in some ways turn out to become the second Hurricane Katrina.”
- adverb (with superlative) After the first; at the second rank. “Saturn is the second largest planet in the solar system.”
- adverb After the first occurrence but before the third. “He is batting second today.”
- noun Something that is number two in a series.
- noun Something that is next in rank, quality, precedence, position, status, or authority.
- noun The place that is next below or after first in a race or contest.
- noun (usually in the plural) A manufactured item that, though still usable, fails to meet quality control standards. “They were discounted because they contained blemishes, nicks or were otherwise factory seconds.”
- noun (usually in the plural) An additional helping of food. “That was good barbecue. I hope I can get seconds.”
- noun A chance or attempt to achieve what should have been done the first time, usually indicating success this time around. (See second-guess.)
- noun (music) The interval between two adjacent notes in a diatonic scale (either or both of them may be raised or lowered from the basic scale via any type of accidental).
- noun The second gear of an engine.
- verb (transitive) To agree as a second person to (a proposal), usually to reach a necessary quorum of two. (See etymology 3 for translations.) “I second the motion.”
- verb To follow in the next place; to succeed.
- verb (climbing) To climb after a lead climber.
- noun A unit of time historically and commonly defined as a sixtieth of a minute which the International System of Units more precisely defines as the duration of 9,192,631,770 periods of radiation corresponding to the transition between two hyperfine levels of caesium-133 in a ground state at a temperature of absolute zero and at rest.
- noun A unit of angle equal to one-sixtieth of a minute of arc or one part in 3600 of a degree.
- noun (informal) A short, indeterminate amount of time. “I'll be there in a second.”
- verb (transitive, UK) To transfer temporarily to alternative employment. “The army officer was seconded while he held civil office.”
Synonyms
other seconder arcsecond second of arc instant jiffy sec bat of an eye bit blink of an eye crack eyeblink flash glimpse half a mo jiff jot minute mo moment s second base secondment endorsement indorsement second gear irregular back endorse indorse
Antonyms
Etymology
From Middle English secunde, second, secound, secund, borrowed from Old French second, seond, from Latin secundus (“following, next in order”), from root of sequor (“to follow”), from Proto-Indo-European *sekʷ- (“to follow”). Doublet of secund and secundo. Displaced native twoth and partially displaced native other (from Old English ōþer (“other; next; second”)).
From Middle English secunde, seconde, borrowed from Old French seconde, from Medieval Latin secunda, short for secunda pars minuta (“second diminished part (of the hour)”).
From Middle French seconder, from Latin secundō (“assist, make favorable”).
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Immediately following the first; next to the first in order of place or time; hence, occuring again; another; other.
- adjective Next to the first in value, power, excellence, dignity, or rank; secondary; subordinate; inferior.
- noun One who, or that which, follows, or comes after; one next and inferior in place, time, rank, importance, excellence, or power.
- noun One who follows or attends another for his support and aid; a backer; an assistant; specifically, one who acts as another's aid in a duel.
Etymology [F., fr. L. secundus second, properly, following, fr. sequi to follow. See Sue to follow, and cf. Secund.]
Etymology [F. seconde. See Second, a.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “second”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details