hand-me-down
Americannoun
-
an article of clothing passed on to another person after being used, outgrown, etc..
The younger children wore the hand-me-downs of the older ones.
-
any item not new that is or can be used again.
Our office furniture was a collection of hand-me-downs.
adjective
-
passed along for further use by others.
some hand-me-down clothes from my older brother.
-
borrowed or adapted from other sources; derivative.
a street full of hand-me-down architecture.
noun
-
-
something, esp an outgrown garment, passed down from one person to another
-
( as modifier )
a hand-me-down dress
-
-
-
anything that has already been used by another
-
( as modifier )
hand-me-down ideas
-
Etymology
Origin of hand-me-down
First recorded in 1870–75
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The chancellor could also offer partial payments, potentially getting smaller for each additional child to reflect that these children might use the same buggy as their siblings or hand-me-down clothes.
From BBC • Nov. 14, 2025
Her queen-size bed is a hand-me-down from a friend.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 4, 2024
It is one of the most deprived wards in the city and she recalls a childhood of hand-me-down clothes and poverty.
From BBC • Jan. 23, 2024
Carson will have his own hand-me-down jersey to wear Monday evening.
From Seattle Times • Jan. 6, 2024
Ivy took the green paper, which read, Resilient Helenwood: Claiming Our Future, Remembering Our Past, and stuffed it into her hand-me-down backpack.
From "Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World" by Ashley Herring Blake
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
