secondo
/seˈkon.do/masculine
The Italian word for 'second' (the unit of time) is secondo.
secondo is used as a masculine noun to refer to one-sixtieth of a minute or the SI unit of time. It is also used as an ordinal number to mean 'second'. Note that the related verb assecondare means 'to agree'.
Meaning: one-sixtieth of a minute, SI unit of time (noun)
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The plural form of the noun secondo is secondi.
How do you pronounce it?
The word is pronounced /seˈkon.do/. It has 3 syllables, with the stress on the second syllable.
Did you know?
- In a traditional Italian meal, the secondo is the second course, which typically consists of meat or fish.
- The word secondo is used as a preposition meaning 'according to'. For example, secondo me means 'in my opinion' or 'according to me'.
- The Italian verb assecondare is a direct descendant of the same root as secondo, but instead of meaning 'to follow' in a sequence, it means 'to go along with' or 'to indulge' someone's wishes.
Examples in context
- Mi dia un secondo.Give me a second.This sentence is useful for practicing the use of secondo when asking for a single second.Tatoeba #2385822 by Guybrush88, translation #1841171 by CK
- Ci dia un secondo.Give us a second.This sentence shows how to use secondo when asking for a single second for a group.Tatoeba #5624701 by Guybrush88, translation #2648831 by CK
- Le dia un secondo.Give her a second.This sentence shows how to use secondo when asking for a single second for a third party.Tatoeba #5750785 by Guybrush88, translation #3915878 by CH
- Il secondo capitolo del libro è molto interessante.The second chapter of the book is very interesting.
- Ci riferiamo, prima, al primo concetto e, secondamente, al secondo.We refer, firstly, to the first concept and, secondly, to the second one.
- 242 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Francesco and Martina are waiting for a digital timer to finish.
- FrancescoAspetta un secondo, Martina.Wait a second, Martina.
- MartinaHai finito il tuo lavoro?Are you finished with your work?
- FrancescoSì, manca solo un secondo.Yes, only one second is left.
- MartinaPerfetto, allora andiamo.Perfect, let's go then.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “second” translations and entries secondo, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
