How to use secondhand in a sentence

17 example sentences · adjective, noun, adverb

Secondhand means not new; previously owned and used by another. Example: “I bought her secondhand, but she's a good little goer.”

Examples of secondhand by meaning

adjectiveIndirect; from a secondary source; not firsthand.

In the light of recent history it is somewhat curious that this decisive power of the professional secondhand dealers in ideas should not yet be more generally recognized.1949, F. A. Hayek, “The Intellectuals and Socialism”, in University of Chicago Law Review, volume 16, number 3, Chicago: University of...

adjectiveInhaled from the air near someone else smoking.

exposure to secondhand smoke from cigarette-smoking colleagues

adverbIn a used or previously-owned condition.

It was almost an article of faith with McEwen never to buy new if he could buy secondhand.1996, Peter Golding, Black Jack McEwen: Political Gladiator, →ISBN, page 50
He glanced back at the Jeep, which he'd bought secondhand a dozen years ago and now, fifteen years old, was gaining on "classic" status.2004, Ruth Doan MacDougall, Henrietta Snow, →ISBN, page 47

More sentences with secondhand

I bought her secondhand, but she's a good little goer.From the entry goer
To replace my first (secondhand sit-up-and-beg) bike, he insisted that I had another, bigger one.2007, Gwyneth Daniel, Trevor Daniel: Doing the Right Thing, Christchurch, Dorset: Willows Press, →ISBN. From the entry sit-up-and-beg
If you've picked up a secondhand one, you should invest $4.00 for a microwave leak tester.1992, Lora Brody, “Welcome to Your Kitchen”, in The Kitchen Survival Guide: A Hand-holding Kitchen Primer with 130 Recipes to Get You…. From the entry nuke
There were so many auctions, secondhand bookstores, antiquariats, and libraries to go to.1977, Mennonite Life, volume 32/33, North Newton, Kan.: Bethel College, page 19. From the entry antiquariat
Linen shawls and spreads show up in secondhand clothing stores like those in the row on St.1975, Douglas Matthews, Suzanne Wymelenberg, Susan Cheever Cowley, Secondhand is Better, page 166. From the entry spread
It was secondhand‹make that fourth- or fifthhand.2002 January 3, Richard Traubner, “Mozart's Singspiel”, in Playbill. From the entry librettist
Ibanez will probably be too spenny unless you find one secondhand with an owner who doesn't appreciate its real value.2000 July 5, tom8...@my-deja.com, “mid-budget archtop jazz choice ?”, in uk.music.guitar (Usenet). From the entry spenny
Some worker confréries, such as those of the carpenters, hatmakers, polishers, and secondhand clothes dealers, tried to obtain formal legitimation in the eighteenth century.1996, Steven L. Kaplan, The Bakers of Paris and the Bread Question, 1700-1775, page 269. From the entry confrerie
Goat says this is part of the appeal for gen Z: “the secondhand market is a legitimate way for young people to make money on their own terms.”2023 March 12, Lauren Cochrane, “Cheap, cool and kind to nature: how secondhand became UK fashion’s main attraction”, in The Observer. From the entry Gen Z
The computational model may be useful in assessing room air levels of constituents among different types of EVPs and estimating potential secondhand EVP exposure under various real-world settings.2022 September 1, Jeffery S. Edmiston, Ali A. Rostami, Qiwei Liang, Sandra Miller, Mohamadi A. Sarkar, “Computational modeling method to…. From the entry passive vaping
Harare, the capital, was abuzz on Tuesday with such so-called insider accounts, each one undoubtedly taking new plot twists as they went from secondhand to thirdhand and further on.2008 April 2, The New York Times, “Talks May End Mugabe’s Rule in Zimbabwe”, in New York Times. From the entry thirdhand
Her descriptions of the greed and lawlessness of the California frontier feel perfunctory and secondhand, as do her predictable paeans to the opportunities afforded immigrants by the United States.1999 November 2, Michiko Kakutani, “Books of The Times: A Single Girl Takes On the California Frontier”, in The New York Times (E…. From the entry paean
Egge tells how to conduct a fascinating junk safari into the attic or antique and secondhand shops and what to do with the trophies you bring home.1968, Ruth Stearns Egge, How to Make Something from Nothing. From the entry safari

Meaning of secondhand

adjective Not new; previously owned and used by another.
adjective Dealing in such merchandise.
adjective Indirect; from a secondary source; not firsthand.

Full definition of secondhand

Questions about secondhand in a sentence

How do you use secondhand in a sentence?: Secondhand is used as an adjective, noun and adverb. For example: “I bought her secondhand, but she's a good little goer.”
What is a short sentence with secondhand?: “It was secondhand‹make that fourth- or fifthhand.”
What does secondhand mean?: Secondhand means not new; previously owned and used by another.

Adapted from Wiktionary: secondhand (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this page: “How to use secondhand in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/secondhand. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.