secondary

adjective sec·ond·ary \ ˈse-kən-ˌder-ē \

|Updated on: 9 Jul 2018

Definition of secondary

1 a : of second rank, importance, or value

b : of, relating to, or constituting the second strongest of the three or four degrees of stress recognized by most linguists

the fourth syllable of basketball team carries secondary stress

c of a tense : expressive of past time

2 a : immediately derived from something original, primary, or basic

b : of, relating to, or being the induced current or its circuit in an induction coil or transformer

secondary voltage

c : characterized by or resulting from the substitution of two atoms or groups in a molecule

a secondary salt

; especially : being, characterized by, or attached to a carbon atom having bonds to two other carbon atoms

d (1) : not first in order of occurrence or development

(2) : dependent or consequent on another disease or condition

secondary hypertension

(3) : produced by activity of formative tissue and especially cambium other than that at a growing point

secondary growth

secondary phloem

3 a : of, relating to, or being the second order or stage in a series

b : of, relating to, or being the second segment of the wing of a bird or the quills of this segment

c : of or relating to a secondary school

secondary education

—

secondarily

play \ˌse-kən-ˈder-ə-lē\ adverb

—

secondariness

play \ˈse-kən-ˌder-ē-nəs\ noun

See secondary defined for English-language learners

See secondary defined for kids

Examples of secondary in a Sentence

Winning is secondary—we play for the fun of the sport.
There are some secondary issues which must be taken into account as well.
I want a car that's reliable; the color is of secondary importance.
The secondary roads are indicated on the map with a green line.
Better gas mileage is a secondary benefit of reduced speed limits.

Recent Examples of secondary from the Web

But the deal has no information about what measures states might take to end secondary migration.

— billy perrigo, Time, "European Leaders Say They Made a 'Breakthrough' Deal on the Migrant Crisis. Here's What They Agreed To Do," 29 June 2018
Prestige says Ticketmaster's abuse of its market position extends to secondary ticket exchanges and that its adversary provides no transparency to consumers about how and why tickets wind up on one or another exchange.

— eriq gardner, The Hollywood Reporter, "Ticketmaster Secretly Provides Scalpers With Bot Software, Brokers Claim," 27 June 2018
Ward is also expected to help a secondary that came up with only seven interceptions, second worst in the NFL.

— jim owczarski, USA TODAY, "Browns training camp questions: Will Baker Mayfield make a play for starting QB role?," 5 July 2018
The secondary may be the biggest strength of the team, with cornerbacks Tae Hayes and Clifton Duck combining for 10 interceptions and 18 passes broken up.

— iliana limón romero, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Potent Appalachian State is No. 54 in 2018 preseason college football rankings," 4 July 2018
The 5-foot-10, 160-pound senior was all over the field as a two-way starter, be it from the secondary or as a wide receiver.

— pat disabato, Daily Southtown, "Say no more: Senior two-way star Tyrell Seymore wants to get Reavis back into the football playoffs," 3 July 2018
Since 1993, all early childhood education in Val d’Aran has been conducted in Aranese, with Spanish, Catalan, French and English being introduced as secondary languages around age six.

— adam cohen, Smithsonian, "This Musician’s Songs Give Powerful Voice to a Language in Crisis," 3 July 2018
But in May, with some controversy, Telegram decided instead to sell $1.7 billion in shares to a select group of private investors, some of whom then sold their holdings for handsome returns on the secondary market.

— jacob silverman, Longreads, "Private Telegram, Public Strife," 3 July 2018
Olivia Fox, a folk-pop trio, captivated a few dozen people at the secondary stage at Crossroads KC.

— bill brownlee, kansascity, "Built to Spill, Social Distortion fittingly end great music day at Middle of the Map," 1 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'secondary.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of secondary

14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

secondary Synonyms

secondary

noun

Definition of secondary

plural secondaries

1 : one occupying a subordinate or auxiliary position rather than that of a principal

2 : a defensive football backfield

3 : the coil through which the secondary current passes in an induction coil or transformer — called also secondary coil

4 : any of the quill feathers of the forearm of a bird — see wing illustration

See secondary defined for English-language learners

Examples of secondary in a Sentence

The team has a strong secondary.

Recent Examples of secondary from the Web

During the last two or three years the Ravens secondary seemed to have communication problems, especially when playing a zone.

— mike preston, baltimoresun.com, "Preston: Rebuilding the offense is fine, but the Ravens need to find pass rushers, too," 25 June 2018
The Chargers' secondary could be a real pain in the neck for opposing quarterbacks and pass-catchers next season.

— mike digiovanna, latimes.com, "Chargers start workouts thinking deep defensive backfield might be secondary to none," 15 May 2018
Settling for a solid secondary shouldn't be the Saints' strategy heading into this week's NFL Draft.

— larry holder, NOLA.com, "Secondary shouldn't be a Saints afterthought in this weekend's NFL Draft," 24 Apr. 2018
Nova Pioneer has plenty of competition: in 2013-17 the number of private primary schools almost doubled and the number of private secondaries rose by half.

— The Economist, "Elite private schools are booming in Kenya," 21 June 2018
There’s a wealth of depth in the secondary led by safety Jaymon Thomas (44 tackles, interception) and defensive back Ronnie Hoggins (53 tackles, two interceptions).

— matt murschel, OrlandoSentinel.com, "USF moves on without Quinton Flowers, Bulls are No. 72 in 2018 preseason college football rankings," 16 June 2018
Verrett was once on track to be a fixture in the Chargers’ secondary, a piece the defense could be built around.

— dan woike, latimes.com, "Chargers' Jason Verrett is hoping he's turned the corner on recovery from knee surgery," 14 June 2018
The Cowboys’ secondary made a few of the highlight-reel plays.

— drew davison, star-telegram, "5 takeaways from Day 1 of Cowboys' minicamp," 12 June 2018
The Panthers are a decent secondary away from having an elite defense.

— eddie brown, sandiegouniontribune.com, "NFL Mock Draft 2018: Three-round projections," 4 Apr. 2018

First Known Use of secondary

15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

Other Field and Goal Sports Terms

crease, lateral, lax, overthrow, playbook, post, screen, scrum, ultimate

SECONDARY Defined for English Language Learners

secondary

adjective

Definition of secondary for English Language Learners

: not as important or valuable as something else
: of or relating to education of students who have completed primary school
: caused by or coming from something else

secondary

noun

Definition of secondary for English Language Learners

American football : the players on the defense who are positioned away from the line of scrimmage and who mainly try to stop forward passes by the offense

SECONDARY Defined for Kids

secondary

adjective sec·ond·ary \ ˈse-kən-ˌder-ē \

Definition of secondary for Students

1 : second in rank, value, or importance

We need to find water. Food is secondary.

2 : derived from or coming after something original or primary

a secondary effect

3 : relating to secondary school

a secondary education

4 : relating to or being the second of three levels of stress in pronunciation

Medical Dictionary

secondary

adjective sec·ond·ary \ ˈsek-ən-ˌder-ē \

medical Definition of secondary

1 : not first in order of occurrence or development: as

a : dependent or consequent on another disease

secondary diabetes

Bright's disease is often secondary to scarlet fever

b : occurring or being in the second stage

secondary symptoms of syphilis

c : occurring some time after the original injury

a secondary hemorrhage

2 : characterized by or resulting from the substitution of two atoms or groups in a molecule

a secondary salt

; especially : being, characterized by, or attached to a carbon atom having bonds to two other carbon atoms

3 : relating to or being the three-dimensional coiling of the polypeptide chain of a protein especially in the form of an alpha-helix — compare primary 4, tertiary 2c

—