second-rate
Americanadjective
-
of lesser or minor quality, importance, or the like.
a second-rate poet.
-
inferior; mediocre.
a second-rate performance.
- Synonyms:
- commonplace, pedestrian, undistinguished, inadequate, middling
adjective
-
not of the highest quality; mediocre
-
second in importance, etc
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of second-rate
First recorded in 1660–70
Explanation
Something that's not well-made or high quality is second-rate. If you buy a cheap second-rate car, you may end up spending a lot on repairs instead. Second-rate things are mediocre, shabby, or inferior. A second-rate production of Hamlet won't be as well done as the Royal Shakespeare Company's performance in Stratford-upon-Avon. And a second-rate cup of coffee might need a lot more cream and sugar than a first-rate cup, but it will cost much less. The adjective second-rate was first used to describe ships, from the British Navy's official classification system.
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.
“I could send this out and I know what the response would be: ‘This is second-rate Schrader,’ ” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2026
Now small investors may finally be invited into private deals, but probably only second-rate ones for confiscatory fees.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 18, 2026
They also require the world to shower prizes on them for their bumbling, second-rate work.
From Salon ● Jan. 14, 2026
In the span of just a few months, Google has fought off concerns that AI would kill its Search business and has transformed Gemini from a second-rate chatbot into a serious competitor to OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 22, 2025
At the time, the heart was thought to be a sideshow, a second-rate organ.
From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
