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Meaning & use

secondment

noun·AdvancedBritishformal

Last updated

UK/sɪˈkɒndmənt/
US/sɪˈkɑːndmənt/

Meaning

  1. nouncountable or uncountable

    A period when a worker is temporarily sent to another department, branch, or organization before returning to their usual job.

    Grammar: Often used with on: she is on secondment to the ministry; a secondment of six months.

    Patterns

    • on secondment to something
    • a secondment from something to something

    She is on secondment to the finance ministry for a year.

    A six-month secondment gave him experience in the Tokyo office.

    The nurse returned from her secondment with new skills.

Word forms

pluralsecondments

Common combinations

on secondment
He is on secondment at the hospital this term.
secondment to
Her secondment to the embassy lasted two years.
short secondment
A short secondment helped her learn the new software.
apply for a secondment
Staff may apply for a secondment after three years.
return from secondment
He returned from secondment in March.

Synonyms and how they differ

transfer
Transfer is usually permanent, while secondment is temporary and the person returns to their original job.
posting
Posting is an assignment to a particular place, often in the military or diplomacy, and can be long-term, while secondment is time-limited.
loan
Loan is informal and can describe an employee lent to another team, but secondment is the official term.
placement
Placement usually describes a training period for students or new workers, while secondment is for experienced employees.

Word family

second verb
to send someone temporarily to another job or place
seconded adjective
sent to work temporarily somewhere else
secondee noun
a person who has been seconded

Commonly confused: secondment or second?

secondment vs second

The verb second in this sense is pronounced with stress on the second syllable (sih-KOND), unlike the ordinal number second, and the two meanings are unrelated.

Practice

A teacher who works at another school for a term but keeps her original post is on ___.

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