secondhand /ˌsɛk(ə)n(d)ˈhænd/adjective 4adverb 2noun 1 adjective4 •Not new; previously owned and used by another. •Inhaled from the air near someone else smoking.exposure to secondhand smoke from cigarette-smoking colleagues •(figurative) Indirect; 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 •Dealing in such merchandise. adverb2 •In 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 •Indirectly. noun1 •Secondhand goods (especially clothes) collectively.Childrenswear is now the fastest growing sector of secondhand. […] The huge increase in the market for childrenswear shows another way in which older generations are getting into secondhand. — 2023
