second class

See synonyms for: second classsecond classes on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. the class of travel accommodations, as on a train, that are less costly and luxurious than first class but are more costly and luxurious than third class.: Compare cabin class.

  2. (in the U.S. Postal Service) the class of mail consisting of newspapers and periodicals not sealed against postal inspection.

  1. the second of three honors degrees conferred by a British university.

Origin of second class

1
First recorded in 1830–40

Words Nearby second class

Other definitions for second-class (2 of 2)

second-class
[ sek-uhnd-klas, -klahs ]

adjective
  1. of a secondary class or quality.

  2. second-rate; inferior.

adverb
  1. by second-class mail or passenger accommodations: to travel second-class.

Origin of second-class

2
First recorded in 1830–40

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use second class in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for second class

second class

noun
  1. the class or grade next in value, quality, etc, to the first

adjective
  1. of the class or grade next to the best in quality, etc

  2. shoddy or inferior

  1. of or denoting the class of accommodation in a hotel or on a train, etc, lower in quality and price than first class

    • (in Britain) of or relating to mail that is processed more slowly than first-class mail

    • (in the US and Canada) of or relating to mail that consists mainly of newspapers, etc

  2. education See second 1 (def. 10)

adverb
  1. by second-class mail, transport, etc

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with second class

second class

Inferior; see second best.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.