second-rate
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: second rate
Alternative forms
Pronunciation
Adjective
second-rate (not comparable)
- (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.
- (idiomatic) Of mediocre quality; not first-rate.
- 1971, Peter Brown, The World of Late Antiquity: AD 150—750, Thames & Hudson LTD, published 2013, →ISBN, page 53:
- ‘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.
- 1888, Rudyard Kipling, A Second-rate Woman:
- 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.
Translations
of mediocre quality
|
See also
Noun
second-rate (plural second-rates)
- (UK, military, nautical, historical) A second-rate ship of the line.
See also
Anagrams
Wikiwand in your browser!
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.
