sophomore
Americannoun
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a student in the second year of high school or college.
-
a person or group in the second year of any endeavor.
He's a sophomore on Wall Street.
adjective
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of or relating to a sophomore.
-
of or being a second effort or second version.
Their sophomore album was even better than their first.
noun
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of sophomore
1645–55; earlier sophumer, probably equivalent to sophum sophism + -er 1
Explanation
A sophomore is in their second year, either in high school or college. Once you became a sophomore, thinking you now knew everything, you pitied the freshmen for their confusion over how to write college papers. Sophomore comes from the word sophism which means "a bad argument that's clever but false," and that's sometimes how sophomores in college act. They're not bright-eyed newcomers anymore, and think they know a lot, but really they've much to learn. We also use the word for other seconds: a band's second album is usually called their sophomore album.
Vocabulary lists containing sophomore
Made You Look: Synonyms for "Immature"
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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.
The freshman and sophomore years were tough, with some core courses flunking or dropping almost half the students.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 21, 2026
If anyone needs a definition for what grinding means in sports, sophomore Carlos Acuna’s performance on Wednesday at Cal State Northridge provided the answer.
From Los Angeles Times • May 21, 2026
One top player who won’t be participating this year is sophomore Jaden Soong, the defending CIF state champion from St. Francis.
From Los Angeles Times • May 11, 2026
“We all learned a lot from the loss last season,” Hawaii sophomore Justin Todd said.
From Los Angeles Times • May 10, 2026
Trent was junior varsity, but Chip had managed a spot on the varsity roster, the only sophomore to do so.
From "Darius the Great Is Not Okay" by Adib Khorram
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.
