Word.ws English Dictionary

seconds

Syllables: sec·ondsUK/ˈsɛkəndz//ˈsɛk.əndz/

seconds is the plural of second.

seconds is the third-person singular simple present indicative of second.

Noun

seconds (uncountable)

  1. A second helping of food for one person, or refill of coffee or other drink.
    • There is plenty of pie left, if you have room for seconds.
    • Everybody helped themselves to seconds and Meren even went for thirds. He had always been partial to good food.2012, Sean Clancy, The Fledgling
    Synonyms:
    second helping
  2. An item of clothing that has failed quality control and is sold at a discount
    • It was marked as seconds, but I can't find anything wrong with it.
  3. Any article of merchandise of a grade inferior to the best; especially, a coarse or inferior kind of flour.

Meaning of second

Noun

second (plural seconds)

  1. Something that is number two in a series.
  2. Something that is next in rank, quality, precedence, position, status, or authority.
  3. The place that is next below or after first in a race or contest.
  4. (plural-normally) A manufactured item that, though still usable, fails to meet quality control standards.
    • They were discounted because they contained blemishes, nicks or were otherwise factory seconds.
  5. (plural-normally) An additional helping of food.
    • That was good barbecue. I hope I can get seconds.
  6. A chance or attempt to achieve what should have been done the first time, usually indicating success this time around. (See second-guess.)
    • The policeman smiled, his eyes twinkling. "Now if you'll follow me, I'll escort you to the Victoria."
      "Oh, there's no need of that. If you'll just point me in the right direction..."
      That's what got you in trouble the first time around. You don't need a second.2003, Sheila Ryan Wallace, The Sea Captain and His Ladies, page 22

See all 30 meanings of second

Synonyms of seconds

Words formed from seconds

Phrases with seconds

10 more phrasesFewer phrases

Questions about seconds

What does seconds mean?
Seconds means a second helping of food for one person, or refill of coffee or other drink.
What is seconds the plural of?
Seconds is the plural of second.
What part of speech is seconds?
Seconds is a noun.
How do you pronounce seconds?
Seconds is pronounced /ˈsɛk.əndz/ (US).

Words near seconds in the dictionary

  1. secondments
  2. secondmost
  3. secondness
  4. secondo
  5. secondos
  6. seconds
  7. seconds in command
  8. seconds of arc
  9. seconds-in-command
  10. secondsighted
  11. secondslong

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: seconds (page history and authors); second (page history and authors). 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: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Persent101-seconds.wav.

Cite this entry: “seconds.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/seconds. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.