Hand-me-down 當名詞時意為「別人用過的舊東西；二手商品或舊貨」，尤指「(年長者穿過傳給年少者的) 舊衣物 (如兄姊穿過的舊衣服)；(別人穿過的) 舊衣服」，通常用複數 hand-me-downs，如 Demand remains strong for some hand-me-downs – including furniture, vintage clothing, china, and jewelry. (若干二手物品的需求仍然非常強大，包括家具、古董衣、瓷器和珠寶首飾)；Fiona got fed up with having to wear her sister’s hand-me-downs. (費歐娜受夠了穿她姊姊的舊衣服)；Ten years ago his brothers and sisters all had to wear hand-me-downs. (十年前他們兄弟姊妹都必須穿舊衣服)。
Hand-me-down 亦可當形容詞用，意為「用過的；舊的，二手的」，如 He used to get hand-me-down shoes from his brother. (他過去常常穿他哥哥穿過的舊鞋)；Mrs. Clark gave us some hand-me-down clothing and blankets. (克拉克太太給了我們一些舊衣服和毯子)。這個字首次出現在 1870 年代，無論當名詞或形容詞都有連字號。