first-year

noun

variants or first year
plural first-years or first years
: a student in the first year (as at a high school or college) : a first-year student
Experts say fledgling first-years can expect to experience the thrill of autonomy, of being in the driver's seat for what may be the first time ever.Jan McCoy Ebbets

Examples of first-year in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
But the average starting salary for a first-year associate at a major law firm is more than $200,000. Adam S. Minsky, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2025 Under first-year head coach Aaron Glenn and veteran DC Steve Wilks, Williams and Gardner should be able to anchor a solid defense. Tyler Everett, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Aug. 2025 As freshmen, full-time students are required to live in an on-campus residence hall, meaning that all those first-year students looking to rush must pay the $180 in order to secure a place to live on campus during the recruitment process. Tabitha Parent, People.com, 12 Aug. 2025 The starting rate for pre-K teachers in Osceola is just over $16 and hour, while the district’s first-year kindergarten teachers can earn more than $50,000 a year, equating to about $24 an hour. Michael Cuglietta, The Orlando Sentinel, 10 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for first-year

Word History

First Known Use

1986, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of first-year was in 1986

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“First-year.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/first-year. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!