freshman

noun

fresh·​man ˈfresh-mən 

often attributive

1

: a student in the first year of high school or college

2

: beginner, newcomer

especially : a person who is starting a job or activity

freshman lawmakers

Synonyms of freshman

• novice
• rookie
• newcomer
• beginner
• apprentice

Examples of freshman in a Sentence

My daughter's a freshman at UCLA.

He was the best freshman in professional basketball this year.

Recent Examples on the Web

The freshman missed his first shot, a 3-point attempt, but made a pull-up jumper along the right baseline for his first collegiate points. —Haley Sawyer, Oc Register, 22 Jan. 2026

For these students, transferring can be a strategic way to earn admission to their dream institution—at some prestigious universities, transfer admissions offers students significantly higher chances of acceptance than freshman admissions. —Christopher Rim, Forbes.com, 22 Jan. 2026

The Aztecs got 16 points from freshman Elzie Harrington, 12 from Dixon-Waters and 11 from Davis. —Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Jan. 2026

Spending a few minutes tooling around on ChatGPT-3’s website, and if not an oracle in silicon, the program is unequivocally able to produce writing at about the level of a B-freshman composition paper. —Literary Hub, 21 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1557, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Phrases Containing freshman

• freshman orientation
• pre-freshman

Rhymes for freshman

• freshmen

Kids Definition

freshman

noun

fresh·​man ˈfresh-mən 

1

: beginner, newcomer

2

: a student in the first year (as of high school or college)