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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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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List 5
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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.
As a director, Wilde lands this jump with gleeful ease, making it clear what she meant when she recently described the dreadful reaction to her sophomore film, “Don’t Worry Darling,” as “liberating.”
From Salon • Jul. 5, 2026
Marked by moody, lo-fi production, the group’s intense sophomore album explores the duality of despair and hope.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 30, 2026
He set a record at Baylor during his sophomore year with 642 points during the 2025-26 season.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 24, 2026
Nadeen Noel was a high-school sophomore when she discovered she was among a group of about 50 students targeted by a group of boys in Iowa.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 14, 2026
We had film class together when I was a sophomore and he was a senior.
From "Please Ignore Vera Dietz" by A.S. King
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.
