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.

See Examples For:

second mortgage

It might well be a smarter move to take out a second mortgage and tap the home equity.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 29, 2026

Another said their flat was "unmortgageable and therefore unsaleable" because of the high ground rent, which meant they had to delay starting a family as they could not afford a second mortgage.

From BBC ● May 26, 2026

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

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

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