first-year

noun

ˈfərst-ˌyir 

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

Starting salaries at Blue Valley for first-year teachers with a bachelor’s degree sit just above $52,000 per year, according to district data. — Taylor O'Connor 15, Kansas City Star, 15 July 2026

Long Beach Poly, making its debut under first-year coach Travon Patterson, will have lots of options on defense because of its standout cornerbacks in Donte Wright and JuJu Johnson. — Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 12 July 2026

The tournament features 42 teams from the USL Championship and USL League One, home to Idaho’s first-year team. — Idaho Statesman, 12 July 2026

Giants manager Tony Vitello came out to argue the call and was ejected by plate umpire Lance Barksdale, the second ejection this season for the first-year skipper. — ABC News, 11 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1986, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for first-year

• atmosphere
• biosphere
• centromere
• chemosphere
• chromosphere
• hemisphere
• hydrosphere
• lithosphere
• mesosphere
• microsphere
• miserere
• mountaineer