hand-me-down
adjective
1
: put in use by one person or group after being used, discarded, or handed down by another
hand-me-down clothes
hand-me-down anecdotes
2
: ready-made and usually cheap and shoddy
hand-me-down
noun
Examples of hand-me-down in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
One was a hand-me-down from my cousin’s husband who was visiting from Virginia and couldn’t fly back with it.
—
Katie Jackson, Outside, 11 Sep. 2025
The final look included Rachel Comey heeled boots, the secondhand Emporio Armani suit, the white dress shirt with French cuffs, silk cufflinks, a silver tie pin, secondhand silver rings, and her grandmother's hand-me-down Peugeot watch.
—Lydia Patrick, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Sep. 2025
Her friend is pregnant with her second child, and had planned to dress the baby in hand-me-downs from her first baby.
—Natalie Eilbert, jsonline.com, 22 Aug. 2025
Hunter had known his biological father his whole life as a family friend; sometimes this man dropped off hand-me-downs that his sons—Hunter’s half brothers—had outgrown.
—Jennifer Wilson, New Yorker, 18 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hand-me-down
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Katie Jackson, Outside, 11 Sep. 2025
The final look included Rachel Comey heeled boots, the secondhand Emporio Armani suit, the white dress shirt with French cuffs, silk cufflinks, a silver tie pin, secondhand silver rings, and her grandmother's hand-me-down Peugeot watch.
—Lydia Patrick, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Sep. 2025
Her friend is pregnant with her second child, and had planned to dress the baby in hand-me-downs from her first baby.
—Natalie Eilbert, jsonline.com, 22 Aug. 2025
Hunter had known his biological father his whole life as a family friend; sometimes this man dropped off hand-me-downs that his sons—Hunter’s half brothers—had outgrown.
—Jennifer Wilson, New Yorker, 18 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hand-me-down
Cite this Entry
“Hand-me-down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hand-me-down. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share