secondhand

[ sek-uhnd-hand ]

adjective

1. not directly known or experienced; obtained from others or from books:

   Most of our knowledge is secondhand.

2. previously used or owned:

   secondhand clothes.

3. dealing in previously used goods:

   a secondhand bookseller.

adverb

1. after another user or owner:

   He bought it secondhand.

2. indirectly; at second hand:

   He heard the news secondhand.

Other Words From

• second·handed·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of secondhand¹

First recorded in 1645–55; second ¹ + hand

Example Sentences

Online marketplace for secondhand luxury goods Poshmark, pet supply retailer Petco Animal Supplies, mobile game developer Playtika and auto service and supply company Driven Brands Holdings are all on deck to go public.

From Fortune

These services are particularly popular in China’s maturing secondhand luxury market.

From Ozy

Buying secondhand clothing could provide consumers a way to push back against the fast-fashion system.

From No Straight News

Research shows that journaling about both negative and positive emotions can ward off secondhand stress and improve mental health.

From Washington Post

Lechman said she too initially heard about her clients’ sicknesses secondhand – through family members or other attorneys with clients in the same housing units.

From Voice of San Diego

The last film most people probably remember of his was the underwhelming sexagenarian comedy Secondhand Lions back in 2003.

From The Daily Beast

“I think if anybody saw real fame first or secondhand, they would not want to pursue it at all,” says a somber Culkin.

From The Daily Beast

But recently—more than three decades after my initial reading—I picked up a secondhand copy of the out-of-print book.

From The Daily Beast

Gordon picked up a pair secondhand and began to stencil then onto blank canvases with spray paint.

From The Daily Beast

However studies have found dangerous compounds like benzene and formaldehyde in inhaled or secondhand vapor.

From The Daily Beast

However, at secondhand, the details very shortly reached him.

From Project Gutenberg

A secondhand copy would be interesting not only for its material but for the price it would fetch.

From Project Gutenberg

Then there is a large, more or less cultured, public that know something of the science at secondhand through books.

From Project Gutenberg

It has already been pointed out that language is a means through which we can get experience secondhand.

From Project Gutenberg

Very good furniture can sometimes be obtained secondhand, but one must be on their guard against "bargains" that are worthless.

From Project Gutenberg