second class

¹ American  

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.

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

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

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second-class ² American  

[sek-uhnd-klas, -klahs] / ˈsɛk əndˈklæs, -ˈklɑs /

adjective

1. of a secondary class or quality.

2. second-rate; inferior.

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adverb

1. by second-class mail or passenger accommodations.

   to travel second-class.

second class British  

noun

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

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adjective

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

2. shoddy or inferior

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

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

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

5. education See second 1

adverb

1. by second-class mail, transport, etc

second class Idioms  

1. Inferior; see second best .

2. Travel accommodations ranking below the highest or first class, as in Traveling second class on European trains is not only cheaper but gives you more contact with local people . [c. 1840]

3. In the United States and Canada, a category of mail consisting of periodicals and newspapers. [c. 1870]

4. second-class citizen . An individual regarded or treated as inferior to others in status or rights, an underprivileged person. For example, In many countries women still are considered second-class citizens . This term uses second class in the sense of “inferior.” [c. 1940]

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Etymology

Origin of second class¹

First recorded in 1830–40

Origin of second-class²

First recorded in 1830–40

Example Sentences

Health Secretary Wes Streeting says some women have been made to feel like "second class citizens" with their pain treated "as an inconvenience and their symptoms as an overreaction".

From BBC • Apr. 14, 2026

“He thinks it’s really important that the authors of the 14th Amendment came in and granted citizenship on this principle that there’s no second class of people born in this country.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 29, 2026

In December 2024, it was fined £10.5m by the regulator Ofcom for failing to meet delivery targets for first and second class mail.

From BBC • Apr. 13, 2025

Citizens Advice described the change as "yet another blow to consumers", and said the change to the second class price was "unjust".

From BBC • Mar. 7, 2025

Jimmy and three other men in our second class had been chosen to be the new instructors who’d stay behind and teach the next group of code talkers.

From "Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two" by Joseph Bruchac