Freshman Meaning
/ˈfɹɛʃ.mən/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nouna person (of either sex) entering the first year of an institution, especially a high school (ninth grade for US, grade 9 for Canada, grade 7 for Philippines), a university, or legislative body
nouna novice; one in the rudiments of knowledge
Sentence Examples
My brother is a freshman.
Carla is the one freshman who aced every course in which she enrolled.
Mary is now in her freshman year at Harvard.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ student eagerly attended the first orientation event on campus.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
During his first week as a ____, he felt a bit overwhelmed by the size of the university campus.
Word Origin & History
From fresh + man.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"When he was but yet a freshman in Cambridge."
— 1596, Thomas Nashe, Have with You to Saffron-Walden:
"Sir Alexander: Then he's a graduate.
Sir Davy: Say they trust him not?
Sir Alexander: Then is he held a freshman and a sot,¶ And never shall commence, but being still barr'd¶ Be expuls'd from the master's side to th' twopenny ward,¶ Or else i' th' hole be plac'd."
— 1611, Thomas Middleton, The Roaring Girl, act 3, scene 3:
"As a country, we now enter what the seven freshmen called “unchartered waters”, with an unprecedented political and constitutional crisis looming on the horizon."
— 2019 September 25, Geoffrey Kabaservice, “Impeach Trump? The United States is now in uncharted waters”, in The Guardian:
"Trump may have played a role in swaying some holdouts — calling into a meeting of Republican freshmen the night before, and calling other members ahead of voting."
— January 7 2023, Lisa Mascaro, Farnoush Amiri, “McCarthy elected House speaker in rowdy post-midnight vote”, in AP News:
"I am but a Freshman yet in France, therefore I can send you no News but that all is here quiet, and 'tis no ordinary News that the French should be quiet."
— 1619 August 6, James Howell, The Familiar Letters of James Howell, volume 1, published 1892, Letter XIII, page 39:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ____ student eagerly attended the first orientation event on campus.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
During his first week as a ____, he felt a bit overwhelmed by the size of the university campus.