preowned

Or pre-owned

[pree-ohnd]

adjective

1. previously owned; used; secondhand.

   a sale of preowned furs.

preowned

/ ˌpriːˈəʊnd /

adjective

1. euphemistic,  already used; second-hand

Word History and Origins

Origin of preowned¹

First recorded in 1960–65; pre- + own + -ed ²

Example Sentences

Amazon.com and Ford Motor announced that certified preowned Ford vehicles are now available on Amazon Autos.

Read more on Barron's

Monday, Ford Motor and Amazon announced External link that car buyers can shop for certified preowned Ford vehicles on Amazon Autos.

Read more on Barron's

Yet I fell in love with the analog format of photography when I picked up a preowned camera on eBay that was made in 1970s Japan.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Listings on Ikea Preowned are put up by the seller, and Ikea's algorithms generate the details of the item including measurements and the original retail price.

Read more on BBC

Ikea Preowned is already up and running in Madrid and Oslo, with the Swedish furniture giant planning to roll out the site globally by December.

Read more on BBC

When To Use

What does preowned mean?

Preowned refers to something that has been previously owned by someone else or has already had at least one previous owner.Preowned is sometimes spelled pre-owned. Preowned is a euphemism, which is a milder way to say something to make it less harsh or blunt. Preowned is typically used to describe something for sale to avoid calling it used or secondhand. A nicer way to say something was owned previously is to call it preloved.Example: I couldn’t afford a new car so I bought a preowned one.