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¹secondary

adjective sec·ond·ary \ˈse-kən-ˌder-ē\

: not as important or valuable as something else

: of or relating to education of students who have completed primary school

: caused by or coming from something else

Full Definition of SECONDARY

a : of second rank, importance, or value

b : of, relating to, or constituting the second strongest of the three or four degrees of stress recognized by most linguists <the fourth syllable of basketball team carries secondary stress>

c of a tense : expressive of past time

a : immediately derived from something original, primary, or basic

b : of, relating to, or being the induced current or its circuit in an induction coil or transformer <secondary voltage>

c : characterized by or resulting from the substitution of two atoms or groups in a molecule <a secondary salt>; especially : being, characterized by, or attached to a carbon atom having bonds to two other carbon atoms

d (1) : not first in order of occurrence or development (2) : dependent or consequent on another disease or condition <secondary hypertension> (3) : produced by activity of formative tissue and especially cambium other than that at a growing point <secondary growth> <secondary phloem>

a : of, relating to, or being the second order or stage in a series

b : of, relating to, or being the second segment of the wing of a bird or the quills of this segment

c : of or relating to a secondary school <secondary education>

— sec·ond·ar·i·ly \ˌse-kən-ˈder-ə-lē\ adverb

— sec·ond·ar·i·ness \ˈse-kən-ˌder-ē-nəs\ noun

See secondary defined for English-language learners

See secondary defined for kids

First Known Use of SECONDARY

14th century

Related to SECONDARY

Synonyms: derivative, secondhand

Antonyms: basic, original

²secondary

noun

American football : the players on the defense who are positioned away from the line of scrimmage and who mainly try to stop forward passes by the offense

plural secondar·ies

Full Definition of SECONDARY

: one occupying a subordinate or auxiliary position rather than that of a principal

: a defensive football backfield

: the coil through which the secondary current passes in an induction coil or transformer —called also secondary coil

: any of the quill feathers of the forearm of a bird — see wing illustration

See secondary defined for English-language learners

First Known Use of SECONDARY

15th century

Other Field and Goal Sports Terms

crease, lateral, lax, overthrow, playbook, post, screen, scrum, ultimate

SECONDARY[2] Defined for Kids

secondary

adjective sec·ond·ary \ˈse-kən-ˌder-ē\

Definition of SECONDARY for Kids

: second in rank, value, or importance <We need to find water. Food is secondary.>

: derived from or coming after something original or primary <a secondary effect>

: relating to secondary school <a secondary education>

: relating to or being the second of three levels of stress in pronunciation

Medical Dictionary

secondary

adjective sec·ond·ary \ˈsek-ən-ˌder-ē\

Medical Definition of SECONDARY

: not first in order of occurrence or development: as a : dependent or consequent on another disease <secondary diabetes> <Bright's disease is often secondary to scarlet fever> b : occurring or being in the second stage <secondary symptoms of syphilis> c : occurring some time after the original injury <a secondary hemorrhage>

: characterized by or resulting from the substitution of two atoms or groups in a molecule <a secondary salt>; especially : being, characterized by, or attached to a carbon atom having bonds to two other carbon atoms

: relating to or being the three-dimensional coiling of the polypeptide chain of a protein especially in the form of an alpha-helix—compare primary 4, tertiary 2c

—sec·ond·ari·ly \ˌsek-ən-ˈder-ə-lē\ adverb