1
: a person older than another
five years my senior
2
a
: a person with higher standing or rank
b
: a senior fellow of a college at an English university
c
: a student in the year preceding graduation from a school of secondary or higher level
3
capitalized
: a member of a program of the Girl Scouts for girls in the 9th through 12th grades in school
4
1
: of prior birth, establishment, or enrollment
—often used to distinguish a father with the same given name as his son
2
: higher ranking : superior
senior officers
3
: of, relating to, or intended for seniors
a senior center
4
: having a claim on corporate assets and income prior to other securities
Synonyms
Examples of senior in a Sentence
Noun
As his senior, she commanded quite a bit of respect.
She was his senior in rank.
high school juniors and seniors
Adjective
the senior vice president of marketing
She is a senior aide to the president.
a senior editor for the magazine
He recently became a senior partner in the accounting firm.
the men's senior baseball league
Recent Examples on the Web
Eddie Brown, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Apr. 2024
Five people were shot in Greenbelt, Maryland, during a high school senior skip day party at a park, police said in a Friday evening press conference.
—Brie Stimson, Fox News, 19 Apr. 2024
More School news:Indiana high school seniors to get letter about in-state college options.
—Caroline Beck, The Indianapolis Star, 18 Apr. 2024
For adults and seniors with mild cognitive impairment or dementia and their care partners.
—The Enquirer, 14 Apr. 2024
The 6-foot-4 senior won the Lisa Leslie Award as the country’s top center and was chosen Naismith defensive player of the year.
—Thuc Nhi Nguyen, Los Angeles Times, 13 Apr. 2024
Family remembers teenager with foundation pushing for water safety
In addition to remembering Bryce a year after his death, his family also started the Bryce Brooks Foundation last year to award scholarships to graduating seniors, something the 16-year-old didn’t live to become.
—USA TODAY, 12 Apr. 2024
That helped the Brookfield East senior get recognized in February as the Wisconsin Journalist of the Year by the Wisconsin Journalist Education Association, an organization that supports school newspapers and student journalists in schools throughout Wisconsin.
—Bridget Fogarty, Journal Sentinel, 8 Apr. 2024
Liam McNeeley, a 6-8 senior from Richardson, Texas, scored six points in Montverde’s 79-63 victory over Paul VI of Virginia in Saturday’s tourney finals.
—Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 7 Apr. 2024
Claire Parker, Washington Post, 9 Apr. 2024
Moscow and Beijing do not want to sign a formal military alliance, as senior officials on both sides have reiterated multiple times.
—Alexander Gabuev, Foreign Affairs, 9 Apr. 2024
Four Gamecocks scored in double digits, including senior Kamilla Cardoso who had 15, while Iowa’s Caitlin Clark put up 30 points in her final game as a collegiate athlete.
—Patricia Garcia, Sacramento Bee, 9 Apr. 2024
Then came the information, from Iran’s government itself, that among the dead was the vice commander of the Quds Force, the multinational spearhead of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), along with senior officers who coordinated Iran’s activities in Syria and Lebanon.
—Dan Raviv and Yossi Melman, TIME, 9 Apr. 2024
Here’s how high Trump Media’s valuation is: Even if the stock price plunged by 50% each day this week, it would still be valued much more richly than any of its peers, according to Matthew Kennedy, senior IPO strategist at Renaissance Capital.
—Matt Egan, CNN, 9 Apr. 2024
Advertisement Matthew Sutton, senior vice president of government affairs and public policy for the California Restaurant Assn., said in a statement that the law shouldn’t increase menu prices if it’s applied correctly.
—Summer Lin, Los Angeles Times, 9 Apr. 2024
Trade tensions mount Beijing is aware of China’s overcapacity problem, acknowledging it as an issue for the first time in almost a decade at an annual meeting of senior officials in December.
—Hanna Ziady, CNN, 28 Mar. 2024
Robin Givhan is senior critic-at-large writing about politics, race and the arts.
—Robin Givhan, Washington Post, 28 Mar. 2024
Noun
The former three-star recruit at wide receiver was an accomplished track athlete in high school, winning a state championship as a senior in Indiana in the 100 meters (10.51 seconds).
—Eddie Brown, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Apr. 2024
Five people were shot in Greenbelt, Maryland, during a high school senior skip day party at a park, police said in a Friday evening press conference.
—Brie Stimson, Fox News, 19 Apr. 2024
More School news:Indiana high school seniors to get letter about in-state college options.
—Caroline Beck, The Indianapolis Star, 18 Apr. 2024
For adults and seniors with mild cognitive impairment or dementia and their care partners.
—The Enquirer, 14 Apr. 2024
The 6-foot-4 senior won the Lisa Leslie Award as the country’s top center and was chosen Naismith defensive player of the year.
—Thuc Nhi Nguyen, Los Angeles Times, 13 Apr. 2024
Family remembers teenager with foundation pushing for water safety
In addition to remembering Bryce a year after his death, his family also started the Bryce Brooks Foundation last year to award scholarships to graduating seniors, something the 16-year-old didn’t live to become.
—USA TODAY, 12 Apr. 2024
That helped the Brookfield East senior get recognized in February as the Wisconsin Journalist of the Year by the Wisconsin Journalist Education Association, an organization that supports school newspapers and student journalists in schools throughout Wisconsin.
—Bridget Fogarty, Journal Sentinel, 8 Apr. 2024
Liam McNeeley, a 6-8 senior from Richardson, Texas, scored six points in Montverde’s 79-63 victory over Paul VI of Virginia in Saturday’s tourney finals.
—Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 7 Apr. 2024
Adjective
And senior officials have been unusually bullish about the prospects for a breakthrough.
—Claire Parker, Washington Post, 9 Apr. 2024
Moscow and Beijing do not want to sign a formal military alliance, as senior officials on both sides have reiterated multiple times.
—Alexander Gabuev, Foreign Affairs, 9 Apr. 2024
Four Gamecocks scored in double digits, including senior Kamilla Cardoso who had 15, while Iowa’s Caitlin Clark put up 30 points in her final game as a collegiate athlete.
—Patricia Garcia, Sacramento Bee, 9 Apr. 2024
Then came the information, from Iran’s government itself, that among the dead was the vice commander of the Quds Force, the multinational spearhead of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), along with senior officers who coordinated Iran’s activities in Syria and Lebanon.
—Dan Raviv and Yossi Melman, TIME, 9 Apr. 2024
Here’s how high Trump Media’s valuation is: Even if the stock price plunged by 50% each day this week, it would still be valued much more richly than any of its peers, according to Matthew Kennedy, senior IPO strategist at Renaissance Capital.
—Matt Egan, CNN, 9 Apr. 2024
Advertisement Matthew Sutton, senior vice president of government affairs and public policy for the California Restaurant Assn., said in a statement that the law shouldn’t increase menu prices if it’s applied correctly.
—Summer Lin, Los Angeles Times, 9 Apr. 2024
Trade tensions mount Beijing is aware of China’s overcapacity problem, acknowledging it as an issue for the first time in almost a decade at an annual meeting of senior officials in December.
—Hanna Ziady, CNN, 28 Mar. 2024
Robin Givhan is senior critic-at-large writing about politics, race and the arts.
—Robin Givhan, Washington Post, 28 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'senior.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Senior.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/senior. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
senior
1 of 2 noun
se·nior
ˈsē-nyər 
1
: a person who is older than another
five years my senior
2
a
: a person with higher standing or rank
b
: a student in the final year of high school or college
senior
2 of 2 adjective1
: being older
—used to distinguish a father from a son with the same name
John Doe, Senior
2
: higher ranking
senior officers
the senior partner of the law firm
3
: of or relating to seniors in an educational institution
the senior class
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