secondary

UK: /ˈsɛkəndəri/ US: /ˈsɛkənˌdɛri/ ,(sek′ən der′ē)

Inflections of 'secondary' (n): npl: secondaries

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

sec•ond•ar•y /ˈsɛkənˌdɛri/   adj. 

1. next after the first in order, rank, or time:
   Secondary school comes after primary school.
2. not primary or original:
   secondary sources.
3. of lesser importance:
   an issue of secondary importance.
4. following as a result of something else:
   a secondary infection.

sec•ond•ar•i•ly /ˈsɛkənˌdɛrəli, ˌsɛkənˈdɛr-/  adv. 

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

sec•ond•ar•y  (sek′ən der′ē), adj., n., pl. -ar•ies. 
adj. 

1. next after the first in order, place, time, etc.
2. belonging or pertaining to a second order, division, stage, period, rank, grade, etc.
3. derived or derivative; not primary or original:
   secondary sources of historical research.
4. of minor or lesser importance;
   subordinate;
   auxiliary.
5. of or pertaining to secondary schools.
6. Chemistry
   • involving or obtained by the replacement of two atoms or groups.
   • noting or containing a carbon atom united to two other carbon atoms in a chain or ring molecule.
7. Electricity noting or pertaining to the current induced by a primary winding or to the winding in which the current is induced in an induction coil, transformer, or the like.
8. Geology noting or pertaining to a mineral produced from another mineral by decay, alteration, or the like.
9. Grammar
   • derived.
   • derived from a word that is itself a derived word:
     a secondary derivative.
   • having reference to past time;
     noting or pertaining to a past tense:
     the Latin, Greek, or Sanskrit secondary tenses.
     Cf. primary (def. 13).
10. Birds [Ornith.] pertaining to any of a set of flight feathers on the second segment of a bird's wing.
11. Phonetics [Ling.] of, pertaining to, or characteristic of a secondary accent:
    secondary stress.

n. 

12. a person or thing that is secondary.
13. a subordinate, assistant, deputy, or agent.
14. Electricity a winding in a transformer or the like in which a current is induced by a primary winding.
15. Birds [Ornith.] a secondary feather.
16. Sport [Football.] the defensive unit that lines up behind the linemen.
17. Phonetics [Ling.] See secondary accent. 

• Latin secundārius. See second¹, -ary
• Middle English 1350–1400

sec•ond•ar•i•ly  (sek′ən der′ə lē, sek′ən dâr′-), adv.  sec′ond•ar′i•ness, n. 
Synonyms

• 4. alternate, subsidiary, backup.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

secondary / ˈsɛkəndərɪ -drɪ/ adjective

1. one grade or step after the first; not primary
2. derived from or depending on what is primary, original, or first: a secondary source
3. below the first in rank, importance, etc; not of major importance
4. (prenominal) of or relating to the education of young people between the ages of 11 and 18: secondary education
5. (of the flight feathers of a bird's wing) growing from the ulna
6. being the part of an electric circuit, such as a transformer or induction coil, in which a current is induced by a changing current in a neighbouring coil: a secondary coil
7. (of a current) flowing in such a circuit
   Compare primary7
8. (of an industry) involving the manufacture of goods from raw materials
   
9. (of an amine) having only two organic groups attached to a nitrogen atom; containing the group NH
10. (of a salt) derived from a tribasic acid by replacement of two acidic hydrogen atoms with metal atoms or electropositive groups
11. 
    (of a tense in Latin, Greek, or Sanskrit) another word for historic3

noun ( -aries)

1. a person or thing that is secondary
2. a subordinate, deputy, or inferior
3. a secondary coil, winding, inductance, or current in an electric circuit
4. any of the flight feathers that grow from the ulna of a bird's wing
   
5. a celestial body that orbits around a specified primary body: the moon is the secondary of the earth
6. the secondary ⇒ cornerbacks and safeties collectively
7. their area in the field
8. short for secondary colour

ˈsecondarily adverb

ˈsecondariness noun