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• second class
  second class

  noun

  the class of travel accommodations, as on a train, that are less costly and luxurious than first class but are more costly and luxurious than third class.
• second-class
  second-class

  adjective

  of a secondary class or quality.

second class

¹ American  

noun

• second classes
  plural

1. the class of travel accommodations, as on a train, that are less costly and luxurious than first class but are more costly and luxurious than third class.

2. (in the U.S. Postal Service) the class of mail consisting of newspapers and periodicals not sealed against postal inspection.

3. the second of three honors degrees conferred by a British university.

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second-class ² American  

[sek-uhnd-klas, -klahs] / ˈsɛk əndˈklæs, -ˈklɑs /

adjective

1. of a secondary class or quality.

2. second-rate; inferior.

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adverb

1. by second-class mail or passenger accommodations.

   to travel second-class.

second class British  

noun

1. the class or grade next in value, quality, etc, to the first

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adjective

1. of the class or grade next to the best in quality, etc

2. shoddy or inferior

3. of or denoting the class of accommodation in a hotel or on a train, etc, lower in quality and price than first class

4. 1. (in Britain) of or relating to mail that is processed more slowly than first-class mail

   2. (in the US and Canada) of or relating to mail that consists mainly of newspapers, etc

5. education See second 1

adverb

1. by second-class mail, transport, etc

second class Idioms  

1. Inferior; see second best .

2. Travel accommodations ranking below the highest or first class, as in Traveling second class on European trains is not only cheaper but gives you more contact with local people . [c. 1840]

3. In the United States and Canada, a category of mail consisting of periodicals and newspapers. [c. 1870]

4. second-class citizen . An individual regarded or treated as inferior to others in status or rights, an underprivileged person. For example, In many countries women still are considered second-class citizens . This term uses second class in the sense of “inferior.” [c. 1940]

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• second classes
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of second class¹

First recorded in 1830–40

Origin of second-class²

First recorded in 1830–40

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

second class second-class

But posties speaking to us anonymously say parcels are still being prioritised, letters left behind, and time wasted in sorting and dividing mail into first and second class.

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026

Your first-class ticket could soon be second class as U.S. airlines add to their dizzying roster of seating options.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026

“He thinks it’s really important that the authors of the 14th Amendment came in and granted citizenship on this principle that there’s no second class of people born in this country.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 29, 2026

A cornerstone of its defence is that delivery rules need to change so second class mail can be taken out less frequently.

From BBC ● Mar. 23, 2026

Among Chicago’s leading citizens there was always a deep fear of being second class.

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson

Anthropologist Anastasia Piliavsky, part of a group called Ukrainian Cosmopolis which aims to defend freedom of thought and speech, believes Russian-speakers are being made to feel like second-class citizens who are deprived of their heritage.

From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026

For most of Season 3, many of those riders have come to realize that dragon riding is a whole lot of work with very little pay and they are still treated like second-class citizens.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026

Under segregation, black Americans generally shared a common experience of being second-class citizens.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 5, 2026

A gifted orator, Jackson articulated the frustrations of those who felt like second-class citizens in the world's most prosperous democracy.

From BBC ● Feb. 17, 2026

Elizabeth learned more about the second-class status of women when she overheard the female clients who came to beg for help at her father’s law office, which adjoined the main house.

From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling

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