second-class
- of a secondary class or quality.
- second-rate; inferior.
- by second-class mail or passenger accommodations: to travel second-class.
Origin of second-class
second class
- 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.Compare cabin 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.
Origin of second class
Related Words for second-class
average, bad, base, common, fair, good-for-nothing, hack, imperfect, indifferent, junk, lemon, lousy, low-grade, low-quality, mean, mediocre, middling, ordinary, paltry, sadExamples from the Web for second-class
Contemporary Examples of second-class
Women are still treated like second-class citizens in many ways.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt on Why He’s Exploring the Word ‘Feminism’ and Online MisogynyMarlow Stern
September 22, 2014
Unless they do,” she says, “victims of violence by NFL players will continue to be treated as second-class citizens.
Gloria Allred Sacks the NFL, Suing Another Player for Domestic AbuseSamantha Allen
September 17, 2014
Still, this is what trans people live with: being treated as second-class citizens, even by others in the “LGBT community.”
They do it because they want women to be submissive, second-class citizen.
But in this theater, they are still only second-class citizens, waiting in the aisles of history.
Historical Examples of second-class
They were seated in a second-class railway carriage by this time.
Henry DunbarM. E. Braddon
"We are going for cattle," and he took two second-class tickets for Dalby.
Australia RevengedBoomerang
A second-class compartment of a corridor carriage, in motion.
The Little Man (From Six Short Plays)John Galsworthy
The second-class and steerage passengers were equally anxious.
The Coming Conquest of EnglandAugust Niemann
The lists had just appeared, and he was only a second-class man.
The BertramsAnthony Trollope
second class
- the class or grade next in value, quality, etc, to the first
- 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 (def. 10)
- by second-class mail, transport, etc
Word Origin and History for second-class
1833, from noun phrase (1810), from second (adj.) + class (n.). Phrase second-class citizen is recorded from 1942.
The Negro recognizes that he is a second-class citizen and that status is fraught with violent potentialities, particularly today when he is living up to the full responsibilities of citizenship on the field of battle. [Louis E. Martin, "To Be or Not to Be a Liberal," in "The Crisis," September 1942]
Idioms and Phrases with second-class
second class
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]