Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary - second-degree

1. In the United States, second-degree is used to describe crimes that are considered to be less serious than first-degree crimes. The judge reduced the charge to second-degree murder. ADJ: ADJ n 2. A second-degree burn is more severe than a first-degree burn but less severe than a third-degree burn. James Bell suffered second-degree burns in an explosion. ADJ: ADJ n