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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

Etymology

Origin of second class¹

First recorded in 1830–40

Origin of second-class²

First recorded in 1830–40

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

second class second-class

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

In the 2024-25 financial year, the company delivered 77% of first class mail and 92.5% of second class mail on time, falling short of its 93% and 98.5% respective targets.

From BBC ● Mar. 23, 2026

In December 2024, it was fined £10.5m by the regulator Ofcom for failing to meet delivery targets for first and second class mail.

From BBC ● Apr. 13, 2025

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

The company and its followers have long chafed at their second-class status, and last week’s iPhone unveiling reignited the resentments.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

“We will not accept fear being used to silence voters, and we will not accept new Americans being treated as less American because they were born somewhere else. No second-class citizens, no second-class voters.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026

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

Children won’t get "a first-class education in second-class schools", she argued after hundreds of schools had to close as a result of crumbling concrete.

From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026

I remember how excited I was making the trip on a second-class train traveling north from Guadalajara to Mexicali.

From "Breaking Through" by Francisco Jiménez