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.
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
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
Mamdani's attempt to break into the competitive world of professional music did not last, with the performer-turned-politician calling himself a second-rate artist.
From Barron's • Oct. 26, 2025
The government also said northern England had been stuck with "second-rate" transport links for too long, and that this was "leaving communities cut off and holding back growth".
From BBC • Sep. 9, 2025
Reluctantly, I concluded that they were the hands of a good-hearted but second-rate person.
From "Jacob Have I Loved" by Katherine Paterson
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.
