second1

[sek-uh nd] /ˈsɛk ənd/
adjective
1.
next after the first; being the ordinal number for two.
2.
being the latter of two equal parts.
3.
next after the first in place, time, or value:
the second house from the corner.
4.
next after the first in rank, grade, degree, status, or importance:
the second person in the company.
5.
alternate:
I have my hair cut every second week.
6.
inferior.
7.
Grammar. noting or pertaining to the second person.
8.
Music. being the lower of two parts for the same instrument or voice:
second horn; second alto.
9.
other or another:
a second Solomon.
10.
Automotive. of, pertaining to, or operating at the gear transmission ratio at which drive shaft speed is greater than that of low gear but not so great as that of other gears for a given engine crankshaft speed:
second gear.
noun
11.
a second part.
12.
the second member of a series.
13.
a person who aids or supports another; assistant; backer.
14.
Boxing. a person who, between rounds of a prizefight, gives aid, advice, etc., to a boxer.
15.
a person who serves as a representative or attendant of a duelist.
16.
Automotive. second gear.
17.
a person or thing that is next after the first in place, time, or value.
18.
a person or thing that is next after the first in rank, grade, degree, status, or importance.
19.
Usually, seconds. an additional helping of food:
He had seconds on the meat and potatoes.
20.
  1. a person who expresses formal support of a motion so that it may be discussed or put to a vote.
  2. an act or instance of doing this.
21.
(in certain British universities) a type or grade of college degree granted according to a student's performance on specific written and oral examinations.
22.
Music.
  1. a tone on the next degree from a given tone.
  2. the interval between such tones.
  3. the harmonic combination of such tones.
  4. the lower of two parts in a piece of concerted music.
  5. a voice or instrument performing such a part.
  6. an alto.
23.
Usually, seconds. Commerce. goods below the first or highest quality, especially containing visible flaws.
Compare first (def 17), third (def 12).
24.
Metallurgy. a piece of somewhat defective but salable tin plate.
25.
Baseball. second base.
verb (used with object)
26.
to assist or support.
27.
to further or advance, as aims.
28.
(in parliamentary procedure) to express formal support of (a motion, proposal, etc.), as a necessary preliminary to further discussion or to voting.
29.
to act as second to (a boxer, duelist, etc.).
adverb
30.
in the second place, group, etc.; secondly:
The catcher is batting second.
Origin
1250-1300; Middle English (adj., noun and adv.) < Old French (adj.) < Latin secundus following, next, second, equivalent to sec- (base of sequī to follow) + -undus adj. suffix
Related forms
seconder, noun
Synonyms
13. aide, helper, agent, deputy.

second2

[sek-uh nd] /ˈsɛk ənd/
noun
1.
the sixtieth part of a minute of time.
2.
a moment or instant:
It takes only a second to phone.
3.
the basic unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), equal to the duration of 9,192,631,770 cycles of radiation in a transition, or energy level change, of the cesium atom. Symbol: s, S;
Abbreviation: sec.
4.
Geometry, Astronomy. the sixtieth part of a minute of angular measure, often represented by the sign ″, as in 30″, which is read as 30 seconds.
Compare angle1 (def 1c).
Origin
1350-1400; Middle English seconde < Middle French < Medieval Latin secunda (minūta) second (minute), feminine of secundus second1
Synonyms
2. jiffy, trice, wink, flash.

second3

[si-kond] /sɪˈkɒnd/
verb (used with object)
1.
British. to transfer (an officer, official, or the like) temporarily to another post.
Origin
1795-1805; < French second, noun use of the adj. in the phrase en second, as in lieutenant en second second lieutenant; see second1
Examples from the web for second
  • Scientists have deciphered a second genetic code that has eluded molecular biologists for two decades.
  • And all too often the answer to the second question has involved subsidies.
  • For years the second solar boat had been considered too fragile uncover.
  • It seems that something odd happens to the second law of thermodynamics when systems get sufficiently small.
  • The second race to the moon has begun-and this time there will be a big cash payout for the winner.
  • Results from a second experiment uphold the observation that neutrinos are moving faster than the speed of light.
  • The second task for the new president will be to improve the standard of living.
  • He quickly reloaded and darted the second bear, too.
  • What saves the second law is that, in quantum physics, entropy can actually be negative.
  • Soon, there were other rooms adjoining the old travel trailer, then a second story with a patio and tiny third floor.
British Dictionary definitions for second

second1

/ˈsɛkənd/
adjective (usually prenominal)
1.
  1. coming directly after the first in numbering or counting order, position, time, etc; being the ordinal number of two: often written 2nd
  2. (as noun): the second in line
2.
rated, graded, or ranked between the first and third levels
3.
alternate: every second Thursday
4.
additional; extra: a second opportunity
5.
resembling a person or event from an earlier period of history; unoriginal: a second Wagner
6.
of lower quality; inferior: belonging to the second class
7.
denoting the lowest but one forward ratio of a gearbox in a motor vehicle
8.
(music)
  1. relating to or denoting a musical part, voice, or instrument lower in pitch than another part, voice, or instrument (the first): the second tenors
  2. of or relating to a part, instrument, or instrumentalist regarded as subordinate to another (the first): the second flute
9.
at second hand, by hearsay
noun
10.
(Brit, education) an honours degree of the second class, usually further divided into an upper and lower designation Full term second-class honours degree
11.
the lowest but one forward ratio of a gearbox in a motor vehicle: he changed into second on the bend
12.
(in boxing, duelling, etc) an attendant who looks after a competitor
13.
a speech seconding a motion or the person making it
14.
(music)
  1. the interval between one note and another lying next above or below it in the diatonic scale
  2. one of two notes constituting such an interval in relation to the other See also minor (sense 4), major (sense 14), interval (sense 5)
15.
(pl) goods of inferior quality
16.
(pl) (informal) a second helping of food
17.
(pl) the second course of a meal
verb (transitive)
18.
to give aid or backing to
19.
(in boxing, etc) to act as second to (a competitor)
20.
to make a speech or otherwise express formal support for (a motion already proposed)
adverb
21.
Also secondly. in the second place
sentence connector
22.
Also secondly. as the second point: linking what follows with the previous statement
Derived Forms
seconder, noun
Word Origin
C13: via Old French from Latin secundus coming next in order, from sequī to follow

second2

/ˈsɛkənd/
noun
1.
  1. 1/60 of a minute of time
  2. the basic SI unit of time: the duration of 9 192 631 770 periods of radiation corresponding to the transition between two hyperfine levels of the ground state of caesium-133 s
2.
1/60 of a minute of angle ″
3.
a very short period of time; moment
Word Origin
C14: from Old French, from Medieval Latin pars minūta secunda the second small part (a minute being the first small part of an hour); see second1

second3

/sɪˈkɒnd/
verb (transitive) (Brit)
1.
to transfer (an employee) temporarily to another branch, etc
2.
(military) to transfer (an officer) to another post, often retiring him to a staff or nonregimental position
Word Origin
C19: from French en second in second rank (or position)
Word Origin and History for second
adj.

"next after first," c.1300, from Old French second, secont, and directly from Latin secundus "following, next in time or order," also "secondary, subordinate, inferior," from root of sequi "follow" (see sequel). Replaced native other in this sense because of the ambiguousness of the earlier word. Second sight is from 1610s; an etymologically perverse term, because it means in reality the sight of events before, not after, they occur. Second fiddle first attested 1809:

A metaphor borrowed from a musical performer who plays the second or counter to one who plays the first or the "air." [Bartlett, "Dictionary of Americanisms," 1848]

n.

"one-sixtieth of a minute of degree," also "sixtieth part of a minute of time," late 14c. in geometry, from Old French seconde, from Medieval Latin secunda, short for secunda pars minuta "second diminished part," the result of the second division of the hour by sixty (the first being the "prime minute," now called the minute), from Latin secunda, fem. of secundus (see second (adj.)). The second hand of a clock is attested from 1759.

v.

1580s, "to support or represent in a duel, fight, etc.," from Middle French seconder, from Latin secundare "to assist, make favorable," from secundus "assisting, favorable, following, second" (see second (adj.)). The noun in this sense is first recorded 1580s. The verb in the parliamentary sense is first recorded 1590s. Related: Seconded; seconding.

second in Medicine

second sec·ond2 (sěk'ənd)
adj.

  1. Coming next after the first in order, place, rank, time, or quality.

  2. Being the next closest to the innermost digit, especially on the foot.

sec'ond n.
second in Science
second
(sěk'ənd)

  1. A unit of time equal to 1/60 of a minute. ◇ A sidereal second is 1/60 of a sidereal minute, and a mean solar second is 1/60 of a mean solar minute. See more at sidereal time, solar time.

  2. A unit of angular measurement, such as longitude or right ascension, equal to 1/60 of a minute of arc.


Idioms and Phrases with second

second

also see:
Encyclopedia Article for second

fundamental unit of time, now defined in terms of the radiation frequency at which atoms of the element cesium change from one state to another.

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