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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

It has been six years since the institution last met its letter delivery targets for second class post and ten years since it last met its letter delivery targets for first class post.

From BBC ● May 29, 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

Pensioners living in two tower blocks said they felt like "second class citizens" after a social landlord quadrupled their heating and hot water bills overnight.

From BBC ● Dec. 4, 2025

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

They came up in a small dining room meant for crew members, and then George led everyone down a long second class corridor, up the grand staircase, and finally out onto the crowded boat deck.

From "I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912" by Lauren Tarshis

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

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

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 5, 2026

For much of its history printmaking has been relegated to second-class citizenship, with works that are viewed as less than equal to one-offs in other media.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 10, 2026

"We've become second-class Swiss citizens," lamented Joana, a 35-year-old mother of two, declining to give her surname for professional reasons.

From Barron's ● Oct. 19, 2025

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