second

ordinal number, determiner

/ˈsek.ənd/

Definition

A1 immediately after the first and before any others: Is Brian her first or second child? This is the second time I've had flu this winter. Today is the second (of March).Ordinal numbers A1 the position in which a person finishes a race or competition if they finish immediately behind the winner: First prize is a fortnight in Barbados and second prize is a weekend in Rome. Jones took second place in the long jump.Scoring, winning and losing in sportWinning and defeatingLosing and being defeated B1 Second is used to show that only one thing is better, bigger, etc. than the thing mentioned: St Petersburg is Russia's second (biggest/largest) city. Iraq's oil reserves are second only to Saudi Arabia's.Ordinal numbers B1 another: She is often described as the second Marilyn Monroe. You really ought to make the most of the opportunity, because you won't get a second chance. Richard and Liz have a second home in France. Pay attention to what she's saying because she won't explain it a second time.Also, extra, and in addition › happening only once out of every two possible times: We've decided to hold the conference every second year. → Compare alternate adjectiveOrdinal numbers

(Definition of second ordinal numberdeterminer from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

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