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.
(in the U.S. Postal Service) the class of mail consisting of newspapers and periodicals not sealed against postal inspection.
the second of three honors degrees conferred by a British university.
of a secondary class or quality.
second-rate; inferior.
of the class or grade next to the best in quality, etc
shoddy or inferior
of or denoting the class of accommodation in a hotel or on a train, etc, lower in quality and price than first class
(in Britain) of or relating to mail that is processed more slowly than first-class mail
(in the US and Canada) of or relating to mail that consists mainly of newspapers, etc
education See second 1
Inferior; see second best .
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]
In the United States and Canada, a category of mail consisting of periodicals and newspapers. [c. 1870]
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]
First recorded in 1830–40
First recorded in 1830–40
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Meanwhile, only 90.2% of second class letters were delivered within three working days against a target of 98.5%.
From BBC ● May 29, 2026
Health Secretary Wes Streeting says some women have been made to feel like "second class citizens" with their pain treated "as an inconvenience and their symptoms as an overreaction".
From BBC ● Apr. 14, 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
Ten years ago, a first class stamp cost 64p while a second class stamp was 55p.
From BBC ● Mar. 6, 2026
I had been shamed enough in that cafe that, while I liked riding the rails, right then I wasn’t going no second class.
From "Life Is So Good" by George Dawson
BBC News NI has previously reported on shop staff in Belfast feeling like "second-class citizens" due to shoplifting and anti-social behaviour.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
But Glenn and other devotees of factory-built housing hope to use the spotlight on recovery to show a still-skeptical public that prefab doesn’t mean second-class.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026
It was at a few after-hours music jam sessions with his co-workers that they got to talking about how in the world of AI audio had become “a second-class citizen.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 28, 2026
Soon it came to mean tawdry and second-class goods.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 18, 2025
Why would these young men openly endorse and perpetuate the very stereotypes that are invoked to justify their second-class status, their exclusion from mainstream society?
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
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.
