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.
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of hand-me-down
Denise Petski, Deadline, 28 Jan. 2025
During that time, Hannah often received Alexa's hand-me-downs because John did not want to buy duplicate items when something already worked.
—Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 24 Jan. 2025
Exchange is the sharing of resources through social networks and communities, like when sharing a cup of sugar with a neighbor or giving hand-me-down clothing to younger family members.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 22 Jan. 2025
My sisters’ hand-me-downs were highly coveted by us all.
—Lola Kirke, Vogue, 21 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hand-me-down
Adjective
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, 28 Jan. 2025
During that time, Hannah often received Alexa's hand-me-downs because John did not want to buy duplicate items when something already worked.
—Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 24 Jan. 2025
Exchange is the sharing of resources through social networks and communities, like when sharing a cup of sugar with a neighbor or giving hand-me-down clothing to younger family members.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 22 Jan. 2025
My sisters’ hand-me-downs were highly coveted by us all.
—Lola Kirke, Vogue, 21 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hand-me-down
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hand-me-down
Adjective
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Most of Johnson’s acquisitions came via the secondhand market: a shirt from a thrift store and a scarf from The RealReal.—
Ana Colón,
Vogue,
7 Mar. 2025
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Worldwide, the secondhand apparel market value was estimated to be worth $197 billion U.S.—
Gordon G. Chang,
Newsweek,
3 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Every cold open featuring Harris and her cohort just rehashed each week’s news cycle, with throwaways to Johnson’s Trump and Bowen Yang as J.D. Vance featuring the two often just reciting actual statements made along the campaign trail, as if the lunacy of it all couldn’t be made more ridiculous.—
Harrison Richlin,
IndieWire,
15 Feb. 2025
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Leitch produced the film, which was a passable Netflix throwaway hampered by dopey B-movie conventions.—
Will Leitch,
Vulture,
8 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Like the customers in that Maryland pizza parlor, the public has grafted their own experiences, biases, and political views onto the scraps of Mangione’s background that have been reported so far.—
Lorena O'Neil,
Rolling Stone,
9 Mar. 2025
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The band, which hails from the Ciudad Juarez/El Paso borderlands, plays a brand of music that takes scraps of genres like cumbia sonidera, funk and pop to create something wholly unique.—
Fidel Martinez,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hand-me-down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hand-me-down. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.
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