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.

   Etymology: [F. seconde. See Second, a.]

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

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

2. Secondadjective

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

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

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

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

4. Secondnoun

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

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

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

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

6. Secondnoun

   aid; assistance; help

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

7. Secondnoun

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

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

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

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

9. Secondadjective

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

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

10. Secondnoun

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

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

11. Secondnoun

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

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

12. Secondadjective

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

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

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

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

14. Secondadjective

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

    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. Astronaut Scott Kelly:

   I'm looking down at the Earth right now and it's 250 miles below me, and only a small portion of that is the atmosphere, and when that Soyuz hits that atmosphere going 17,500 miles an hour, a lot of things have to happen just right to make sure we touch down and parachute safely. So when you look at that big space between us and the speed involved, it's pretty serious. And it's something that you definitely think about and consider. But it's my second time flying the Soyuz, my fourth time flying in space. It's something I signed up to do, and we'll be ready for it next Tuesday.

2. Peter Jenniskens:

   Combining the observations of the small asteroid in space with information gleaned from the meteorites shows it likely came from Vesta, second largest asteroid in our Solar System and target of NASA's DAWN mission, billions of years ago, two giant impacts on Vesta created a family of larger, more dangerous asteroids. The newly recovered meteorites gave us a clue on when those impacts might have happened.

3. Eknath Easwaran:

   The Sufis advise us to speak only after our words have managed to pass through three gates. At the first gate we ask ourselves, Are these words true? If so, we let them pass on; if not, back they go. At the second gate we ask, Are they necessary? At the last gate we ask, Are they kind?

4. John Hiatt:

   The immediate fix might be to put a second person in the cab until they get this (PTC) implemented.

5. Helen Kromer:

   One mind awake can awaken another, The second awake can awaken their next door brother. Three awake can awaken the town By turning the whole place upside down. Many awake can make such a fuss That they finally awaken the rest of us.

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