varsity

noun

var·​si·​ty ˈvär-sə-tē 

-stē

plural varsities

1

a

: the principal squad representing a university, college, school, or club especially in a sport

b

: regular sense 1c

2

British : university

Examples of varsity in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

That the school had offered 28 varsity teams, seventh most among all Division I teams, did not make the cuts any less painful. —Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 19 Dec. 2025

Fresh off a historic state championship title, the Saint Mary's varsity football team is back in Stockton after a nail-biting down-to-the-wire win in Southern California against Bakersfield Christian. —Charlie Lapastora, CBS News, 16 Dec. 2025

Doug, who asked to be identified only by his first name, told the Star-Telegram that his son, a junior, had recently been promoted to the school’s varsity team. —Lillie Davidson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 12 Dec. 2025

The father of a Monroe High varsity volleyball player has filed a Title IX complaint against the district, charging that his daughter and others on her team were denied a chance to compete fair and square against another team because the other team had a transgender girl on its roster. —Georgea Kovanis, Freep.com, 9 Dec. 2025

Word History

Etymology

by shortening from university (with regular late Middle English opening of tautosyllabic er to ar)

First Known Use

1646, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Phrases Containing varsity

• junior varsity

Rhymes for varsity

• sparsity
• intervarsity

Kids Definition

varsity

noun

var·​si·​ty ˈvär-sət-ē 

-stē

plural varsities

: the main team representing a college, school, or club in contests

Etymology

an altered form of versity, itself an old, shortened form of university