Second-rate

Quick meaning: Second-rate is an adjective meaning (idiomatic) Of mediocre quality; not first-rate.

Meaning

(idiomatic) Of mediocre quality; not first-rate.

More Meanings

1. (UK, military, nautical, historical) A second-rate ship of the line.
2. (UK, military, nautical, historical) Of a Royal Navy ship of the line in the Napoleonic Era: having 80–98 guns across three gun decks, a complement of 700–750, and weighing approximately 2,200 tons burthen.

Example Sentences

They are intrigued by Mrs Deelville; she is dowdy, languid-voiced, and ill-dressed, in every way appearing second-rate, who nonetheless - rather tiresomely - seems to have the knack of attracting men.

‘Revelation’, to a philosopher such as Plotinus, was not merely irrational: it led to second-rate counterfeits of traditional academic philosophical culture. It was as if the inhabitants of an underdeveloped country were to seek to catch up with western technology by claiming to have learnt nuclear physics through dreams and oracles.

Word Forms

• second-rates

Synonyms for second-rate

Depending on context, synonyms include inferior, medium-quality, second-class, ass, bad, base.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include inferior, poor, mediocre, two-bit, discount, creep.

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