thirdhand
adjective
third·hand
ˈthərd-ˈhand 
1
: received from or through two intermediaries
thirdhand information
2
a
: acquired after being used by two previous owners
b
: dealing in thirdhand merchandise
Examples of thirdhand in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
By gathering second- and thirdhand traces and elusive sources and data, historians have illuminated communities in the forests of the Kongo region, the deltas of West Africa, the mangroves of Cuba, and the swamps of the Carolinas.
—
Laurent Dubois,
The Atlantic,
6 Jan. 2026
Well-meaning family members shared thirdhand anecdotes about car hijackings.
—
María Cristina Lalonde,
Travel + Leisure,
29 Dec. 2025
On social media the same day, users amplified similar claims with thirdhand accounts.
—
Maria Ramirez Uribe and Amy Sherman,
Journal Sentinel,
18 Dec. 2024
The Information’s report also contains the potentially staggering thirdhand allegation that Google stooped so low as to train Bard using data from OpenAI’s ChatGPT, scraped from a website called ShareGPT.
—
Sean Hollister,
The Verge,
30 Mar. 2023
In the teleconference, Gentner and Sheu didn’t have any direct advice as to lowering the spread of thirdhand smoke.
—
Hailey Rose McLaughlin,
Discover Magazine,
4 Mar. 2020
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Laurent Dubois,
The Atlantic,
6 Jan. 2026
Well-meaning family members shared thirdhand anecdotes about car hijackings.
—
María Cristina Lalonde,
Travel + Leisure,
29 Dec. 2025
On social media the same day, users amplified similar claims with thirdhand accounts.
—
Maria Ramirez Uribe and Amy Sherman,
Journal Sentinel,
18 Dec. 2024
The Information’s report also contains the potentially staggering thirdhand allegation that Google stooped so low as to train Bard using data from OpenAI’s ChatGPT, scraped from a website called ShareGPT.
—
Sean Hollister,
The Verge,
30 Mar. 2023
In the teleconference, Gentner and Sheu didn’t have any direct advice as to lowering the spread of thirdhand smoke.
—
Hailey Rose McLaughlin,
Discover Magazine,
4 Mar. 2020
Cite this Entry
“Thirdhand.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/thirdhand. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
