junior varsity

American

noun

Sports.

a university, college, or school team that consists of players who lack the qualifications or skill necessary for the varsity and compete against other teams of similar composition or ability.

Etymology

Origin of junior varsity

First recorded in 1945–50

Compare meaning

How does junior-varsity compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

varsity vs. junior varsity

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Randall showed up as a 6-foot freshman and played junior varsity.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 27, 2026

The priority is getting on scouts’ radar as quickly as possible—and a season or two on junior varsity is unacceptable.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 22, 2026

Eventually, Little would play in junior varsity football games as a punter, before jumping up to varsity level.

From BBC • Jan. 8, 2026

But the Griffins, loaded with backups from last season and members of a good junior varsity team, are 8-6 going into an early Sunset League showdown with 16-1 Corona del Mar on Monday.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 5, 2026

They would race first, for a distance of two miles, followed at hourly intervals by the junior varsity and the varsity, each racing for three miles.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023