Word.ws English Dictionary

second to none

second to none adjective: as good as the best, as in quality or reputation; inferior to no one else or to nothing else of the same kind.

Adjective

second to none (not comparable)

  1. As good as the best, as in quality or reputation; inferior to no one else or to nothing else of the same kind.
    • Second Merchant: How is the man esteemed here in the city?
      Angelo: Of very reverend reputation, sir,
      Of credit infinite, highly beloved,
      Second to none that lives here in the city.c. 1594 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Comedie of Errors”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount...
    • “[I]f I, in the performance of my work, have been second to none, do you see that you in yours may be equally efficient?”1877, Anthony Trollope, chapter 11, in The Life of Cicero

Noun

second to none

  1. (capitalized, slang, sometimes) Heroin.
    • The heroin, which police officials said had been measured at purity levels as high as 80 percent, is being sold under brand names like Unforgettable, Second to None, Black Beauty and Al Capone.1992 July 30, “Powerful Heroin Kills 20”, in New York Times, retrieved 24 Jun 2011

second to none meaning in Malayalam

second to none in Malayalam

unrivalled, incomparable, matchless
ആർക്കും പിന്നിലല്ലാത്ത, ആരേയുംകാൾ മോശമല്ലാത്ത, അകല്പ, സാമ്യമില്ലാത്ത, നിരുപമം, നിരുപമ

Examples of second to none in a sentence

  • The NanShan, he affirmed, was second to none as a sea-boat.1902 January–March, Joseph Conrad, “Typhoon”, in George R. Halkett, editor, The Pall Mall Magazine, volume XXVI, London: Printed by Hazell...
  • Such equipment demands first-class design and manufacturing skills, a good deal of experience and quality of materials second to none, and cannot be inexpensive.1962 July, “B.R. signalling—Means to simplification and improvement”, in Modern Railways, page 50:
  • The righteous way to go / Little one would know / Or believe if I told them so / You're second to none1970, “The Makings of You”, in Curtis, performed by Curtis Mayfield:
  • The Afghans have been second to none at small-war tactics ever since they fought the British in the 19th century.2001 October 1, Yuri Zarakhovich, Alexander Lyakhovski, “A Tough Fight”, in Time:

Questions about second to none

What does second to none mean?
Second to none means as good as the best, as in quality or reputation; inferior to no one else or to nothing else of the same kind.
What is second to none in Malayalam?
Second to none in Malayalam is ആർക്കും പിന്നിലല്ലാത്ത, ആരേയുംകാൾ മോശമല്ലാത്ത, അകല്പ. See Second to none meaning in Malayalam.
How do you use second to none in a sentence?
The NanShan, he affirmed, was second to none as a sea-boat.
What part of speech is second to none?
Second to none can be an adjective or a noun.

Words near second to none in the dictionary

  1. Second Temple
  2. Second Thirty Years' War
  3. second thought
  4. second thoughts
  5. second to last
  6. second to none
  7. second toe
  8. second toes
  9. second Tuesday of the week
  10. second uncle
  11. second uncles

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: second to none (page history and authors); second to none (Olam, E.K. Kurup corpus) (dataset and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-second to none.ogg.

Cite this entry: “second to none.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/second_to_none. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.