Definitions for second
ˈsɛk əndsec·ond

Princeton's WordNet(3.50 / 4 votes)Rate this definition:

1. second, sec, snoun

   1/60 of a minute; the basic unit of time adopted under the Systeme International d'Unites

2. moment, mo, minute, second, bitnoun

   an indefinitely short time

   "wait just a moment"; "in a mo"; "it only takes a minute"; "in just a bit"

3. second base, secondnoun

   the fielding position of the player on a baseball team who is stationed near the second of the bases in the infield

4. moment, minute, second, instantnoun

   a particular point in time

   "the moment he arrived the party began"

5. secondnoun

   following the first in an ordering or series

   "he came in a close second"

6. second, arcsecondnoun

   a 60th part of a minute of arc

   "the treasure is 2 minutes and 45 seconds south of here"

7. secondnoun

   the official attendant of a contestant in a duel or boxing match

8. second, secondment, endorsement, indorsementnoun

   a speech seconding a motion

   "do I hear a second?"

9. second gear, secondnoun

   the gear that has the second lowest forward gear ratio in the gear box of a motor vehicle

   "he had to shift down into second to make the hill"

10. irregular, secondadjective

    merchandise that has imperfections; usually sold at a reduced price without the brand name

11. second, 2nd, 2dadjective

    coming next after the first in position in space or time or degree or magnitude

12. secondverb

    a part or voice or instrument or orchestra section lower in pitch than or subordinate to the first

    "second flute"; "the second violins"

13. second, back, endorse, indorseverb

    give support or one's approval to

    "I'll second that motion"; "I can't back this plan"; "endorse a new project"

14. secondadverb

    transfer an employee to a different, temporary assignment

    "The officer was seconded for duty overseas"

15. second, secondlyadverb

    in the second place

    "second, we must consider the economy"

GCIDE(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Secondnoun

   (Parliamentary Procedure) A motion in support of another motion which has been moved in a deliberative body; a motion without a second dies without discussion.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. SECONDnoun

   It is observable that the English have no ordinal of two, as the Latins and the nations deriving from them have none of duo. What the Latins call secundus, from sequor, the Saxons term oþer , or æftera.

   Etymology: second, French; secundus, Latin.

   1. The next in order to the first; the ordinal of two.

   Sunk were their hearts with horror of the crime,
   Nor needed to be warn’d a second time,
   But bore each other back. Dryden.

   2. Next in value or dignity; inferiour.

   I shall not speak superlatively of them, lest I be suspected of partiality; but this I may truly say, they are second to none in the Christian world. Francis Bacon, Advice to Villiers.

   None I know
   Second to me, or like; equal much less. John Milton.

   My eyes are still the same; each glance, each grace,
   Keep their first lustre, and maintain their place,
   Not second yet to any other face. Dryden.

   Not these huge bolts, by which the giants slain;
   Lay overthrown on the Phlegrean plain;
   ’Twas of a lesser mould and lighter weight;
   They call it thunder of a second rate. Addison.

   By a sad train of miseries alone
   Distinguish’d long, and second now to none. Alexander Pope.

   Persons of second rate merit in their own country, like birds of passage, thrive here, and fly off when their employments are at an end. Jonathan Swift.

2. Secondnoun

   Etymology: second, French; from the adjective.

   1. One who accompanies another in a duel to direct or defend him.

   Their seconds minister an oath,
   Which was indifferent to them both,
   That on their knightly faith and troth
   No magick them supplied;
   And sought them that they had no charms,
   Wherewith to work each other’s harms,
   But came with simple open arms
   To have their causes tried. Michael Drayton, Nymphid.

   Their first encounters were very furious, ’till after some toil and bloodshed they were parted by the seconds. Addison.

   Personal brawls come in as seconds to finish the dispute of opinion. Isaac Watts.

   2. One who supports or maintains; a supporter; a maintainer.

   He propounded the duke as a main cause of divers infirmities in the state, being sure enough of seconds after the first onset. Henry Wotton.

   Courage, when it is only a second to injustice, and falls on without provocation, is a disadvantage to a character. Collier.

   3. A second minute, the second division of an hour by sixty; the sixtieth part of a minute.

   Four flames of an equal magnitude will be kept alive the space of sixteen second minutes, though one of these flames alone, in the same vessel, will not last above twenty-five or at most thirty seconds. John Wilkins, Math. Magic.

   Sounds move above 1140 English feet in a second minute of time, and in seven or eight minutes of time about 100 English miles. John Locke.

3. To Secondverb

   Etymology: seconder, Fr. secundo, Lat. from the noun.

   1. To support; to forward; to assist; to come in after the act as a maintainer.

   The authors of the former opinion were presently seconded by other wittier and better learned, who being loth that the form of church polity, which they sought to bring in, should be otherwise than in the highest degree accounted of, took first an exception against the difference between church polity and matters of necessity to salvation. Richard Hooker.

   Though we here fall down,
   We have supplies to second our attempt;
   If they miscarry, theirs shall second them. William Shakespeare, Henry VI.

   I to be the power of Israel’s God
   Avow, and challenge Dagon to the test,
   Off’ring to combat thee his champion bold,
   With th’ utmost of his godhead seconded. John Milton.

   Familiar Ovid tender thoughts inspires,
   And nature seconds all his soft desires. Wentworth Dillon.

   If in company you offer something for a jest, and no body seconds you in your laughter, you may condemn their taste; but in the mean time you make a very indifferent figure. Jonathan Swift.

   In human works, though labour’d on with pain,
   A thousand movements scarce one purpose gain;
   In God’s, one single can its ends produce,
   Yet serves to second too some other use. Alexander Pope.

   2. To follow in the next place.

   You some permit
   To second ills with ills. William Shakespeare.

   Having formerly discoursed of a maritimal voyage, I think it not impertinent to second the same with some necessary relations concerning the royal navy. Walter Raleigh.

   He saw his guileful act
   By Eve, though all unweeting, seconded
   Upon her husband. John Milton, Paradise Lost.

   Sin is usually seconded with sin; and a man seldom commits one sin to please, but he commits another to defend himself. Robert South, Sermons.

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Secondadjective

   immediately following the first; next to the first in order of place or time; hence, occuring again; another; other

2. Secondadjective

   next to the first in value, power, excellence, dignity, or rank; secondary; subordinate; inferior

3. Secondadjective

   being of the same kind as another that has preceded; another, like a protype; as, a second Cato; a second Troy; a second deluge

4. Secondnoun

   one who, or that which, follows, or comes after; one next and inferior in place, time, rank, importance, excellence, or power

5. Secondnoun

   one who follows or attends another for his support and aid; a backer; an assistant; specifically, one who acts as another's aid in a duel

6. Secondnoun

   aid; assistance; help

7. Secondnoun

   an article of merchandise of a grade inferior to the best; esp., a coarse or inferior kind of flour

8. Secondadjective

   the sixtieth part of a minute of time or of a minute of space, that is, the second regular subdivision of the degree; as, sound moves about 1,140 English feet in a second; five minutes and ten seconds north of this place

9. Secondadjective

   in the duodecimal system of mensuration, the twelfth part of an inch or prime; a line. See Inch, and Prime, n., 8

10. Secondnoun

    the interval between any tone and the tone which is represented on the degree of the staff next above it

11. Secondnoun

    the second part in a concerted piece; -- often popularly applied to the alto

12. Secondadjective

    to follow in the next place; to succeed; to alternate

13. Secondadjective

    to follow or attend for the purpose of assisting; to support; to back; to act as the second of; to assist; to forward; to encourage

14. Secondadjective

    specifically, to support, as a motion or proposal, by adding one's voice to that of the mover or proposer

15. Etymology: [F., fr. L. secundus second, properly, following, fr. sequi to follow. See Sue to follow, and cf. Secund.]

Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Second

   The second is the base unit of time in the International System of Units and is also a unit of time in other systems of measurement it is the second division of the hour by sixty, the first division by 60 being the minute. Between 1000 and 1960 the second was defined as 1/86,400 of a mean solar day. Between 1960 and 1967, it was defined in terms of the period of the Earth's orbit around the Sun in 1900, but it is now defined more precisely in atomic terms. Seconds may be measured using mechanical, electric or atomic clocks. Astronomical observations of the 19th and 20th centuries revealed that the mean solar day is slowly but measurably lengthening and the length of a tropical year is not entirely predictable either; thus the sun–earth motion is no longer considered a suitable basis for definition. With the advent of atomic clocks, it became feasible to define the second based on fundamental properties of nature. Since 1967, the second has been defined to be: SI prefixes are frequently combined with the word second to denote subdivisions of the second, e.g., the millisecond, the microsecond, and the nanosecond. Though SI prefixes may also be used to form multiples of the second such as kilosecond, such units are rarely used in practice. The more common larger non-SI units of time are not formed by powers of ten; instead, the second is multiplied by 60 to form a minute, which is multiplied by 60 to form an hour, which is multiplied by 24 to form a day.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Second

   sek′und, adj. immediately following the first: the ordinal of two: next in position: inferior: other: another: favourable.—n. one who, or that which, follows or is second: one who attends another in a duel or a prize-fight: a supporter: the 60th part of a minute of time, or of a degree.—v.t. to follow: to act as second: to assist: to encourage: to support the mover of a question or resolution: (mus.) to sing second to: to put into temporary retirement in the army, as an officer when holding civil office (usually sēcond′).—n. Sec′ond-ad′ventist, one who lives in expectation of a second coming of Christ to establish a personal kingdom on earth, a premillenarian.—adv. Sec′ondarily, in a secondary manner or degree: (B.) secondly.—n. Sec′ondariness.—adj. Sec′ondary, following or coming after the first: second in position: inferior: subordinate: deputed.—n. a subordinate: a delegate or deputy.—adjs. Sec′ond-best, next to the best: best except one—(Come off second-best, to get the worst of a contest); Sec′ond-class, inferior to the first, as a second-class carriage.—ns. Sec′onder, one who seconds or supports; Sec′ond-flour, flour of a coarser quality, seconds.—adj. Sec′ond-hand, received as it were from the hand of a second person: not new: that has been used by another.—n. a hand for marking seconds on a clock or watch.—adv. Sec′ondly, in the second place.—ns. Sec′ond-mark, the character ″ as the mark in mathematics for a second of arc, in architecture for inches, and as a sign for a second of time; Secon′do, the lower part in a duet.—adj. Sec′ond-rate, being second in power, size, rank, quality, or value.—ns. Sec′ond-sight (see Sight); Sec′onds-pen′dulum, a pendulum which makes one oscillation per second of mean time.—Secondary education, that which is higher than primary or elementary; Secondary formation, rocks, strata, the Mesozoic strata; Secondary planet, a moon or satellite; Secondary school, a school for higher education; Second childhood, a condition of mental weakness often accompanying old age; Second coming, the second coming of Christ, or Second Advent; Second cousin, the child of a cousin; Second estate, the House of Lords; Second guard, an additional guard to a sword; Second story, in America, the second range of rooms from the first level, called in England the first floor; Second thoughts, reconsideration. [Fr.,—L. secundus—sequi, secutus, to follow.]

Dictionary of Nautical Terms(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. second

   The sixtieth part of a minute. A division of a degree of a circle. A term applied both to time and to space. Also, second in a duel; a very important part to play, since many a life may be saved without implicating honour.

Military Dictionary and Gazetteer(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. second

   The next in order to the first; the next in place or station; as, a second lieutenant of the artillery service.

Matched Categories

1. • Angular Unit
   • Attendant
   • Gear
   • Point In Time
   • Position
   • Rank
   • Support
   • Time
   • Time Unit

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'second' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #228

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'second' in Written Corpus Frequency: #418

3. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'second' in Nouns Frequency: #459

How to pronounce second?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say second in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of second in Chaldean Numerology is: 9

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of second in Pythagorean Numerology is: 6

Examples of second in a Sentence

1. Chae Hyun-kee:

   In annual terms, oil kept falling so this was expected. In the first half of this year, the central bank is likely to focus more on economic growth and exchange rates compared to inflation, oil prices will continue affecting inflation through the second quarter.

2. James Comey:

   It was a hard choice, I still believe in retrospect the right choice, i can't consider for a second whose political fortunes will be affected.

3. Honore' de Balzac:

   First love is a kind of vaccination which saves a man from catching the complaint a second time.

4. Greg Abbott:

   I was proud last night to sign this law ... What it means is that no county, no city, no governmental body in the state of Texas can adopt any policy that provides sanctuary, and second, what it means, is that law enforcement officials, such as sheriffs, are going to be required to comply with ICE detainer requests.

5. Markus Gandler:

   For us, it’s unbelievable, on this downhill there are two sides, the right course and the left course. The right course is the first loop and the left course in the second loop. The second loop is going into the finish area.

Popularity rank by frequency of use