freshman

noun

fresh·​man ˈfresh-mən How to pronounce freshman (audio)
often attributive
1
: a student in the first year of high school or college
2
: beginner, newcomer
especially : a person who is starting a job or activity
freshman lawmakers

Examples of freshman in a Sentence

My daughter's a freshman at UCLA. He was the best freshman in professional basketball this year.
Recent Examples on the Web Ryan Rudes, a freshman at Caltech, skipped his math class to take photos of the eclipse. Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr. 2024 Between starting quarterback Jalon Daniels and freshman Isaiah Marshall, the Jayhawks’ QB group has signal callers who can make plays with their legs. Shreyas Laddha, Kansas City Star, 5 Apr. 2024 The freshman began this week with 30 goals and 14 assists this season. Darren Sabedra, The Mercury News, 5 Apr. 2024 And in that, the Patrick Henry High School freshman is refreshingly unique. Tod Leonard, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Apr. 2024 The sports drama that is centered around football player Spencer James (Daniel Ezra) — which has followed the star wide receiver and his friends from his days at Crenshaw High up through his freshman year at the fictitious Golden Angeles University last season — will mark 100 episodes on May 27. Brande Victorian, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 Apr. 2024 So did the only Miami true freshman to be interviewed this spring. Susan Miller Degnan, Miami Herald, 2 Apr. 2024 Meeting and discovering Latin American films The couple met as students at the University of Connecticut during Torres’ freshman year in the 2009-10 school year. Liz Rothaus Betrand, Charlotte Observer, 27 Mar. 2024 Daniels and Bean provided mentorship last season, so he’s tried to return the favor and do the same with freshman quarterback Isaiah Marshall. Shreyas Laddha, Kansas City Star, 27 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'freshman.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1557, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of freshman was in 1557

Dictionary Entries Near freshman

Cite this Entry

“Freshman.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/freshman. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.

Kids Definition

freshman

noun
fresh·​man ˈfresh-mən How to pronounce freshman (audio)
1
2
: a student in the first year (as of high school or college)

More from Merriam-Webster on freshman

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!