secondary
sec·ond·ar·y / ˈsekənˌderē/ • adj. 1. coming after, less important than, or resulting from someone or something else that is primary: luck plays a role, but it's ultimately secondary to local knowledge. ∎ of or relating to education for children from the age of eleven to sixteen or eighteen: a secondary school. ∎ having a reversible chemical reaction and therefore able to store energy. ∎ relating to or denoting the output side of a device using electromagnetic induction, esp. in a transformer.2. (Secondary) Geol. former term for Mesozoic.3. Chem. (of an organic compound) having its functional group located on a carbon atom that is bonded to two other carbon atoms. ∎ (chiefly of amines) derived from ammonia by replacement of two hydrogen atoms by organic groups.• n. (pl. -ar·ies) 1. short for: ∎ a secondary color. ∎ Ornithol. a secondary feather. ∎ a secondary coil or winding in an electrical transformer.2. Football the players in the defensive backfield; the area these players cover.3. (the Secondary) dated Geol. the Secondary or Mesozoic era.DERIVATIVES: sec·ond·ar·i·ly / -ˌderəlē/ adv.sec·ond·ar·i·ness n.
