freshman
Americannoun
plural
freshmen-
a student in the first year of the course at a university, college, or high school.
-
a novice; beginner.
adjective
-
of, relating to, or characteristic of a freshman.
to outgrow one's freshman attitudes.
-
lacking seniority or experience; junior.
a freshman senator.
-
required of or suitable for freshmen.
freshman courses.
-
initial; first.
This is my freshman year with the company.
Gender
See -man.
Other Word Forms
- freshmanship noun
- prefreshman noun
- subfreshman noun
Etymology
Origin of freshman
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.
“He was 8,000 times smarter than any freshman I’d ever seen.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 8, 2026
Orange Lutheran’s Rylee Silva, who had 135 strikeouts as a freshman last spring, struck out five Cougars.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 5, 2026
My daughter got into trouble with credit cards as a freshman.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 30, 2026
UConn had missed all but one 3-pointer in the first half, and if the numbers leveled out and the scoreboard tightened, he sensed that Duke—led by star freshman Cameron Boozer—might tighten up.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 30, 2026
But he’d been building this abstract new life for them since Luke took state their freshman year.
From "We'll Fly Away" by Bryan Bliss
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
