as in secondhand
owned or used by someone after it had been owned or used by someone else
—used especially of clothing
He was wearing an old, hand-me-down jacket.
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of hand-me-down
Margaret Roach, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2025
As children they were accustomed to wearing hand-me-downs that carried the name of a previous owner.
—Rosemary Feitelberg, WWD, 24 Mar. 2025
His plucky nickname—born from the ‘Loosey-goosey’ rhyme and shared with his father—is less of a hand-me-down and more of a savvy branding decision.
—Mike Dojc, Forbes, 14 Mar. 2025
Through it all—the fights, the coupon cutting, the hand-me-downs, the breakdowns—with love, humor and perseverance, the family prevails.
—Denise Petski, Deadline, 12 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hand-me-down
Adjective
The Fight for Free Tampons in Schools Lands in Court
Image
Mr. Baker got his start in breeding with a gift of hand-me-down plants from two friends, Ken Frieling, a coleus breeder who died last May, and Mr. Frieling’s partner, Tom Winn, who died in 2013.
—Margaret Roach, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2025
As children they were accustomed to wearing hand-me-downs that carried the name of a previous owner.
—Rosemary Feitelberg, WWD, 24 Mar. 2025
His plucky nickname—born from the ‘Loosey-goosey’ rhyme and shared with his father—is less of a hand-me-down and more of a savvy branding decision.
—Mike Dojc, Forbes, 14 Mar. 2025
Through it all—the fights, the coupon cutting, the hand-me-downs, the breakdowns—with love, humor and perseverance, the family prevails.
—Denise Petski, Deadline, 12 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hand-me-down
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hand-me-down
Adjective
-
And secondhand shopping also scratches another itch for younger shoppers: sustainability.—
Madeline Mitchell,
USA Today,
19 Apr. 2025
-
But, depending on the brand, cast iron skillets could be worth actual dollars on the secondhand market.—
Heather Bien,
Southern Living,
15 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
The consumer sees their purchase as a short-term-use throwaway item because that has become the industry standard.—
Ryan McFarland,
Forbes.com,
24 Apr. 2025
-
The new one offers a bigger, more brutal string of kill-shots and corpses, either morally justified as part of the story or, at one point, treated as a throwaway gag illustrating what Bernthal’s Braxton actually does for a living.—
Michael Phillips,
Chicago Tribune,
23 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Holloway, a former UFC featherweight champ, saw his three-fight winning streak end in his most recent scrap, a third-round knockout loss to UFC lightweight champ Ilia Topuria at UFC 308 in October 2024.—
Trent Reinsmith,
Forbes.com,
26 Apr. 2025
-
The weapons were loaded onto a conveyor belt and fed to a gun chipper to be turned into scrap metal and recycled.—
Christina Shaw,
FOXNews.com,
25 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hand-me-down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hand-me-down. Accessed 2 May. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share