Meaning & use
secondhand
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivebefore a noun
Not new; having had a previous owner.
Grammar: Usually used before a noun: a secondhand car. Can also be used after a linking verb: The car is secondhand.
Patterns
- secondhand + noun
She bought a secondhand bicycle to save money.
The shop sells secondhand books and clothes.
He drives a secondhand car that he bought from a friend.
adverb
From a previous owner; not new.
Grammar: Used after a verb: I bought it secondhand.
Patterns
- buy something secondhand
- get something secondhand
I got this jacket secondhand for just ten dollars.
She buys almost everything secondhand.
They furnished their flat secondhand.
adjectivebefore a noun
Heard from someone else rather than directly from the original source.
Grammar: Used before a noun: secondhand information.
Patterns
- secondhand information
- secondhand knowledge
I only have secondhand information about the meeting.
His knowledge of the event is secondhand.
She repeated secondhand gossip without checking the facts.
Common combinations
- secondhand car
- He bought a secondhand car with low mileage.
- secondhand smoke
- Secondhand smoke is dangerous for children.
- secondhand shop
- There's a secondhand shop on the corner that sells furniture.
- buy something secondhand
- I prefer to buy books secondhand.
Synonyms and how they differ
- used
- Used is more common in American English for things like cars and books; secondhand is slightly more formal and can also mean 'not directly from the source'.
- pre-owned
- Pre-owned is a polite marketing word for secondhand, often used for cars.
Opposites
Commonly confused: secondhand or second hand?
secondhand vs second hand
As two words, 'second hand' can mean the hand that shows seconds on a clock. The one-word form 'secondhand' means not new.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'secondhand' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Secondhand information means information you got from someone else, not directly. Option An is wrong because 'secondhand' and 'new' contradict each other. Option C uses 'secondhand' as a verb, which it is not. Option D uses the two-word form for the clock hand, which is spelled 'second hand'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “secondhand”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.