1
as in decent
of average to below average quality
a second-rate song from a songwriter who has done much better
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in inferior
of little or less value or merit
a second-rate company that was never considered among the top manufacturers of televisions
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in cheap
of low quality
second-rate goods specifically manufactured for the low end of the market
Synonyms & Similar Words
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 second-rate
For those who don't know his story, Darnold has gone through so much during his last eight seasons, including being pushed around the league like a second-rate quarterback and being called a bust by many in the profession.
—
Noe Padilla,
USA Today,
9 Feb. 2026
Maybe then the United States will care about slipping to second-rate.
—
Noah Shachtman,
Wired News,
13 Jan. 2026
For three months, Turner’s college football programming has been limited to second-rate Big 12 games, with Fox and ESPN retaining rights to the conference’s most appealing matchups.
—
Barry Jackson,
Miami Herald,
19 Dec. 2025
Meanwhile, TPUs are far from a second-rate technology.
—
Jeff John Roberts,
Fortune,
17 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for second-rate
Noe Padilla,
USA Today,
9 Feb. 2026
Maybe then the United States will care about slipping to second-rate.
—
Noah Shachtman,
Wired News,
13 Jan. 2026
For three months, Turner’s college football programming has been limited to second-rate Big 12 games, with Fox and ESPN retaining rights to the conference’s most appealing matchups.
—
Barry Jackson,
Miami Herald,
19 Dec. 2025
Meanwhile, TPUs are far from a second-rate technology.
—
Jeff John Roberts,
Fortune,
17 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for second-rate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for second-rate
Adjective
-
Find a quiet gate, buy a decent coffee, use your noise-canceling headphones.
-
Rear-seat passengers get decent legroom and the cargo area is practical enough for road trips, shopping runs or airport duty.
Adjective
-
More broadly, the idea that White players are inherently inferior no longer matches reality.
-
This is because Austria would have remained on three points but with an inferior goal difference to Iran in the third-place standings (minus one to zero).
Adjective
-
Microchips are relatively cheap and are required for every pet in Los Angeles County over 4 months old.
-
Prove Your Claims With Evidence In a market flooded with AI capabilities, claims are cheap, and every launch sounds the same.
Adjective
-
Sweden, especially, seemed content to play conservatively, which forced France to take mediocre shots in the early going.
-
The author's experience, where mediocre tires led to a collision, highlights that tires are the vehicle's only road contact, directly impacting safety and performance.
Adjective
-
Three other people in the vehicle, including a 6-month-old, had minor injuries, the report said.
-
The adult and child had minor to moderate injuries and were taken to the hospital, the fire department said.
Adjective
-
Because of that, these hands suffer from high production costs, poor durability against impacts, short operational lifespans, and there are no existing solutions that engineers can readily draw upon, Wang added.
-
The extreme heat can also affect people who are physically ill, especially those with heart disease or high blood pressure, or who take certain medications, such as for depression, insomnia, or poor circulation.
Adjective
-
Kelley said the company believed the existing easement was satisfactory and wasn’t told otherwise until after investing years of work on he project.
-
For writing, editing, spreadsheets, email, and web browsing, performance proved entirely satisfactory.
Adjective
-
The quartet eventually broke America with later albums, but Arctic Monkeys songs were faster, funnier, and meaner in 2006.
-
Chen noted that the FDA approval was based on a single clinical trial with a mean participant age of 47, and nearly 74% of participants were women.
Cite this Entry
“Second-rate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/second-rate. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
