Phrase guide

second hand

adj · noun · 6 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˌsɛkənd ˈhænd/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • /ˈsɛkənd ˌhænd/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Alternative form of secondhand.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: alt-of, alternative, not-comparable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

An intermediate person or means; intermediary.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

On the clock face of a clock or watch, the hand (pointer) that shows the number of seconds that have passed.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

adverb

Meaning 4

from a source of previously owned goods

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • I prefer to buy second hand

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

hand marking seconds on a timepiece

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: hand

Narrower terms: sweep hand, sweep-second

6

noun

Meaning 6

an intermediate person; used in the phrase `at second hand'

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • he could learn at second hand from books

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: mediator, go-between, intermediator, intermediary, intercessor

History

Etymology

second (ordinal) + hand (“party”)

second (“unit of time”) + hand (“pointer”)

Across languages

Translations

28 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: عَقْرَب ثَوَانِي (ʕaqrab ṯawānī) — the hand or pointer that shows the number of seconds that have passed
  • Belarusian: секу́ндная стрэ́лка (sjekúndnaja strélka) — the hand or pointer that shows the number of seconds that have passed
  • Belarusian: сэку́ндная стрэ́лка (sekúndnaja strélka) — the hand or pointer that shows the number of seconds that have passed
  • Bulgarian: секу́ндна стрелка́ (sekúndna strelká) — the hand or pointer that shows the number of seconds that have passed
  • Chinese Mandarin: 秒針 /秒针 (miǎozhēn) — the hand or pointer that shows the number of seconds that have passed
  • Dutch: secondewijzer — the hand or pointer that shows the number of seconds that have passed
  • Finnish: sekuntiosoitin — the hand or pointer that shows the number of seconds that have passed
  • Finnish: sekuntiviisari — the hand or pointer that shows the number of seconds that have passed
  • French: trotteuse — the hand or pointer that shows the number of seconds that have passed
  • French: aiguille des secondes — the hand or pointer that shows the number of seconds that have passed
  • German: Sekundenzeiger — the hand or pointer that shows the number of seconds that have passed
  • Greek: δείκτης δευτερολέπτων (deíktis defterolépton) — the hand or pointer that shows the number of seconds that have passed
  • Hungarian: másodpercmutató — the hand or pointer that shows the number of seconds that have passed
  • Indonesian: jarum detik — the hand or pointer that shows the number of seconds that have passed
  • Japanese: 秒針 (byōshin) — the hand or pointer that shows the number of seconds that have passed
  • Korean: 초침 (chochim) — the hand or pointer that shows the number of seconds that have passed
  • Macedonian: секунда́рник (sekundárnik) — the hand or pointer that shows the number of seconds that have passed
  • Maltese: sekondiera — the hand or pointer that shows the number of seconds that have passed
  • Norwegian Bokmål: sekundviser — the hand or pointer that shows the number of seconds that have passed
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: sekundvisar — the hand or pointer that shows the number of seconds that have passed
  • Plautdietsch: Zekundenwiesa — the hand or pointer that shows the number of seconds that have passed
  • Polish: sekundnik — the hand or pointer that shows the number of seconds that have passed
  • Polish: wskazówka sekundowa — the hand or pointer that shows the number of seconds that have passed
  • Portuguese: ponteiro dos segundos — the hand or pointer that shows the number of seconds that have passed
  • Russian: секу́ндная стре́лка (sekúndnaja strélka) — the hand or pointer that shows the number of seconds that have passed
  • Spanish: segundero — the hand or pointer that shows the number of seconds that have passed
  • Swedish: sekundvisare — the hand or pointer that shows the number of seconds that have passed
  • Ukrainian: секу́ндна стрі́лка (sekúndna strílka) — the hand or pointer that shows the number of seconds that have passed