second mortgage

American

noun

a mortgage the lien of which is next in priority to a first mortgage.

second mortgage British

noun

a mortgage incurred after a first mortgage and having second claim against the security

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of second mortgage

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Aaron Levinson wanted to go to a World Cup game this summer, but he didn’t want to take out a second mortgage to pay for that.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2026

Plus, there was the $42,000 she still owed from a second mortgage on her home.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 27, 2025

And I had to have a second mortgage on my house to guarantee the show to go into that building.

From MarketWatch • Oct. 10, 2025

Last year, Zeldin and his wife obtained a second mortgage, for $712,500, on a property in Washington, D.C., a short walk from the EPA’s headquarters.

From Salon • Sep. 6, 2025

A big source of its growth had been the second mortgage.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023