sophomore

CEFRB1

/ˈsɒf.ə.mɔː/

noun · adjective

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A student in the second year of high school or college.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    A second-year undergraduate student in a college or university, or a second-year student in a four-year secondary school or high school.

Examples

  • I can't believe Tom is already a sophomore.

  • She was very mature for a sophomore and had several friends who were juniors or even seniors.

At a glance

Sits at B1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
4
Parts of speech
2
Citations
3

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meaning

  1. A three-year-old horse.

adjective

Extra meaning

  1. The second in a series, especially, the second of an artist’s albums or the second of four years in a high school (tenth grade) or university.

More examples

In context

  • The band’s sophomore album built upon the success of their debut release, catapulting them to megastardom.

  • She is a sophomore.

  • The filly had looked promising as a sophomore, but concerns over her health had prompted the owner to pull her from the season’s early races.

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

After completing his first year, he became a blank student at the university.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

From earlier sophumer, from the obsolete sophom, sophum (“sophism or dialectical exercise”), from Ancient Greek σόφισμα (sóphisma). Likely influenced by Ancient Greek σοφός (sophós, “wise”) + μωρός (mōrós, “fool”). Compare oxymoron (literally “sharp-dull”), a similar contradiction.