second-rateˌsecond-ˈrate adjective [usually before noun] 
Examples
a second-rate artist
ExamplesEXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
Thesaurus- a second-rate author
- A second-rate actor, she thought.
- This time they are peddling water-filters, but the product is a second-rate consideration.
- We continue to be second-rate citizens-no, third-rate, since our sons come be-fore us.
Longman Language Activatornot very bad, but not very good► not very good
not of the very best standard or quality → first-rate: especially spoken not good - use this when you are disappointed because you were expecting something better: · "What was the movie like?" "It was OK but the ending wasn't very good."· He's been learning English for five years, but his pronunciation isn't very good.
► mediocre something that is mediocre is of a lower standard than it should be, and does not show much quality or skill: · The team gave another mediocre performance last night.· Tourists crowd the gift shops to buy mediocre products at high prices.
► nothing special spoken not very bad, but not especially good: · "Was the food good?" "It was okay, but nothing special."· The town's nice, but the beach is nothing special.
► all right/OK, but ... spoken say this when you think that something is good in some ways but there are some bad parts of it too: · My grades were OK, but I thought I should have gotten an 'A' in chemistry.· The game was all right, but it wasn't worth what I paid to watch it.
► so-so informal not very good, but not very bad either: · "How is your meal?'' "So-so.''· The hotel was in a lovely location, but the facilities were only so-so.
► second rate/third rate not as good as other things of the same kind: · People are not willing to pay a lot of money for second-rate works of art.· All they could afford was a room in a second-rate hotel about a mile from the beach.
► not be up to scratch especially British something that is not up to scratch , is not as good as it should be: · The hotels and transport system in this city are not up to scratch at the moment.
► patchy a performance, piece of work etc that is patchy is good in some parts, but bad in others and in general is not good: · The film is patchy, despite one or two good performances.· Many department stores reported patchy sales over Christmas.
► lacklustre British /lackluster American: lacklustre performance not very bad, but not as good as was expected: · The corporation's profits increased dramatically this year, after a rather lacklustre performance last year.
not good at doing something► bad not able to do something well, for example a job, sport, or activity: · He's the worst driver I've ever seen.· Critics blame the students' poor test performances on bad teaching.bad at: · I was always really bad at French!bad at doing something: · I'm very bad at remembering people's names.
► badly if you do something badly , you do it carelessly, not skilfully, or you do it in the wrong way: · Adams admitted that he had played badly.· The company had been badly managed from the start.· Lorna speaks Spanish so badly that no one in our class can understand her.
► not very good also not much good British especially spoken not able to do something well: not very good at: · I'm afraid I'm not very good at math.· I'm not much good at speeches but I'll do my best.not very good at doing something: · She's not very good at communicating with other people.· He has never been much good at dealing with people.not very well: · "Do you play the piano?" "Yes, but not very well."not very good as: · She's a nice person, but not much good as a boss.
► no good at something spoken bad at a skill or activity: · I'm no good at tennis.· Cait freely admits that she's no good at anything except singing.no good at doing something: · Leo's no good at lying -- his face always turns red when he's not telling the truth.
► second-rate/third-rate not very good, especially not as good as other people who do the same thing: · She's a second-rate singer.· We spent the evening listening to third-rate writers read their poetry in a seedy nightclub.
► weak/poor not having much ability or skill in a particular activity or subject: · This is Boston's weakest team in years.· When managers' leadership skills are poor, productivity suffers.· I wouldn't trust her. She's always been a poor judge of character.weak/poor at science/history etc: · She's weak at mathematics, and this affects her physics results as well.
a second-rate artist