Second-hand means used: something that has already had an owner, like a second-hand car or second-hand books. The second meaning is “not from the original source”: second-hand information is something you heard from other people rather than found out yourself. Second-hand only describes a thing or how you got it. The shop where you buy used things is a second-hand shop; in Britain it's often a charity shop, and in the US a thrift store.
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second-hand + noun; buy/get + something + second-hand; second-hand shop; hear about + something + second-hand
- We furnished our first flat with second-hand furniture from online ads.
- I bought this coat second-hand, but it looks almost new.
- I only heard about the layoffs second-hand, so I'm not sure it's true.
What changed
First versionI found this jacket in a second hand for ten pounds.
RevisionI found this jacket in a second-hand shop for ten pounds.
In a number of languages, second hand has been borrowed as the name of the shop, so it's tempting to use it that way in English. But in English second-hand isn't a noun, and it needs the word shop: second-hand shop or, in British English, charity shop.
Used also means “owned before”, and it's especially common about cars in American English: a used car. But for information you heard from others, only second-hand works. Written as two words, second hand is the hand on a clock that shows seconds: The second hand on my watch has stopped.
Your turn
I didn't see the accident myself; I only heard about it ___.
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second-hand — The speaker learnt about the accident from other people, which is second-hand. Used is only for things that have already had an owner.
Describe something you bought second-hand. Say what it was and where you found it.
Last spring I bought a second-hand bike at a charity shop near my office, and it still works perfectly.
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