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

In 2023-24, the first-year Bruin took only nine slap shots. —Fluto Shinzawa, New York Times, 11 Nov. 2025

Columbia opened its season with a 71-53 win over New Haven, a result that was surprisingly close considering New Haven is a first-year Division I team. —Ben Verbrugge, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Nov. 2025

And for the players, the first-year coach hopes the sting of the loss fuels their offseason. —Austin White, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Nov. 2025

The first-year coach has been effusive about Johnson’s knack for relocation and natural feel for cutting. —Bennett Durando, Denver Post, 8 Nov. 2025

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