sec·ond-class
ˈse-kən(d)-ˈklas 
-kᵊŋ-
1
: of or relating to a second class
2
: mediocre
also
: socially, politically, or economically deprived
1
: the second and usually next to highest group in a classification
2
3
: a class of U.S. or Canadian mail comprising periodicals sent to regular subscribers
Synonyms
Examples of second-class in a Sentence
Noun
The airline offers special services for travelers in first and second class.
She got an upper second class in English at Oxford.
Recent Examples on the Web
Hartosh Singh Bal, Foreign Affairs, 12 Apr. 2024
Three years ago, women’s basketball players were treated as second-class players by the NCAA with vastly inferior weight rooms—a scandal that prompted some reflection in the sport.
—Emma Hinchliffe, Fortune, 8 Apr. 2024
Ruscha’s stains were left by automobiles parked out in the lot — ordinary, figurative images recorded by a cameraman the artist hired at a time when photography was a second-class medium for art.
—Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 7 Apr. 2024
Meanwhile, the revenue model assigns second-class cash to the Big 12 and ACC, which are set to receive 32 percent of the total revenue each year.
—Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 3 Apr. 2024
On occasion, members of the Biden team — including Mr. Biden himself — groused about his second-class treatment by the Obama team, an elite and Ivy-educated machine.
—Katie Rogers, New York Times, 26 Mar. 2024
There are three classes of medical certificates issued by the FAA: first-class airline transfer pilot, second-class commercial pilot, and third-class private pilot.
—Harrison Pierce, Travel + Leisure, 23 Mar. 2024
Their silence designates Arab Americans as second-class citizens.
—Doris Bittar, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Mar. 2024
Notably, the different classes of SUVs — small, midsize, and midsize luxury — were tied for the most Top Safety Pick+ awards, with five apiece; midsize luxury SUVs won 12 of the second-class awards, the most overall.
—William Gavin, Quartz, 27 Feb. 2024
Daniel Rodgers, Vogue, 17 Apr. 2024
He was promoted from apprentice seaman to seaman second class in October 1940, and died just over a year later, at 19.
—Jennifer Dixon, Detroit Free Press, 7 Mar. 2024
Haase’s second class also had three four-star recruits.
—Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 7 Mar. 2024
The second class included the first efforts at artistry.
—Merilee Grindle, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 Oct. 2023
SpaceX is offering a second class of rideshare missions on its Falcon 9 rocket to serve customers seeking to go to mid-inclination orbits, Space News reports.
—Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 18 Aug. 2023
But the organizers say that the university has recently started cutting second classes, so that instructors no longer qualify.
—Gene Maddaus, Variety, 29 Nov. 2023
So Baz, of Hawks on Hand, is now offering a second class from 9 to 11 a.m. Oct. 22 at Ernest E. Debs Regional Park in the Montecito Heights neighborhood.
—Jeanette Marantos, Los Angeles Times, 31 Aug. 2023
The Arkansas Colleges of Health Education graduated its second class of 150 physicians from the Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine last May.
—Monica Brich, Arkansas Online, 7 May 2023
Adjective
Over his ten years in office, the prime minister has successfully relegated Muslims to second-class status in Indian society.
—Hartosh Singh Bal, Foreign Affairs, 12 Apr. 2024
Three years ago, women’s basketball players were treated as second-class players by the NCAA with vastly inferior weight rooms—a scandal that prompted some reflection in the sport.
—Emma Hinchliffe, Fortune, 8 Apr. 2024
Ruscha’s stains were left by automobiles parked out in the lot — ordinary, figurative images recorded by a cameraman the artist hired at a time when photography was a second-class medium for art.
—Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 7 Apr. 2024
Meanwhile, the revenue model assigns second-class cash to the Big 12 and ACC, which are set to receive 32 percent of the total revenue each year.
—Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 3 Apr. 2024
On occasion, members of the Biden team — including Mr. Biden himself — groused about his second-class treatment by the Obama team, an elite and Ivy-educated machine.
—Katie Rogers, New York Times, 26 Mar. 2024
There are three classes of medical certificates issued by the FAA: first-class airline transfer pilot, second-class commercial pilot, and third-class private pilot.
—Harrison Pierce, Travel + Leisure, 23 Mar. 2024
Their silence designates Arab Americans as second-class citizens.
—Doris Bittar, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Mar. 2024
Notably, the different classes of SUVs — small, midsize, and midsize luxury — were tied for the most Top Safety Pick+ awards, with five apiece; midsize luxury SUVs won 12 of the second-class awards, the most overall.
—William Gavin, Quartz, 27 Feb. 2024
Noun
Second hand is not a synonym for second class, as anyone who has discovered vintage will understand.
—Daniel Rodgers, Vogue, 17 Apr. 2024
He was promoted from apprentice seaman to seaman second class in October 1940, and died just over a year later, at 19.
—Jennifer Dixon, Detroit Free Press, 7 Mar. 2024
Haase’s second class also had three four-star recruits.
—Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 7 Mar. 2024
The second class included the first efforts at artistry.
—Merilee Grindle, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 Oct. 2023
SpaceX is offering a second class of rideshare missions on its Falcon 9 rocket to serve customers seeking to go to mid-inclination orbits, Space News reports.
—Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 18 Aug. 2023
But the organizers say that the university has recently started cutting second classes, so that instructors no longer qualify.
—Gene Maddaus, Variety, 29 Nov. 2023
So Baz, of Hawks on Hand, is now offering a second class from 9 to 11 a.m. Oct. 22 at Ernest E. Debs Regional Park in the Montecito Heights neighborhood.
—Jeanette Marantos, Los Angeles Times, 31 Aug. 2023
The Arkansas Colleges of Health Education graduated its second class of 150 physicians from the Arkansas College of Osteopathic Medicine last May.
—Monica Brich, Arkansas Online, 7 May 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'second-class.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near second-class
Cite this Entry
“Second-class.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/second-class. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.
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