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.
Among his duties in San Diego, Black figures to be a sounding board for first-year manager Craig Stammen, who, like Black, is a rare pitcher turned skipper. Jeff Sanders, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Jan. 2026 More than 3,500 incoming first-year students this fall will be eligible for the initiative, according to the release. Milla Surjadi, Dallas Morning News, 14 Jan. 2026 Three other reporters had already asked game-specific questions when the microphone was passed to Jones, who was still looking at her notes and trying to figure out what to ask the first-year coach immediately after a heartbreaking end to the season. Los Angeles Times, 14 Jan. 2026 Things got so bad that first-year head coach Brian Schottenheimer was pulling himself away from his head-coaching and offensive play-caller duties to spend more time in the defensive meeting room. Jon MacHota, New York Times, 13 Jan. 2026 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

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Cite this Entry

“First-year.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/first-year. Accessed 19 Jan. 2026.

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