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Glite Dictionary
first-year

first-year

170 3.0
A person who started school, college, or a job this year
  • adjective
  • /ˈfɜrst jɪr/
translation icon : de primer año
  • This course is meant for first year MBA students.
  • a first-year student
  • a first-year teacher
  • a first-year college student

Needless to say, this caught some first year students by surprise.

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Examples

  • These are things that you will learn as a first year graduate student.

  • Needless to say, this caught some first year students by surprise.

    Stanford

  • So that first year was quite tough.

  • So everybody gets a cold in their first year.

    Todd (2021)

  • That was my first year in England.

    Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)

  • Currently I am a first year prospective math major.

  • When Henri Young began his rehabilitation I was in my first year of law school at Harvard.

    Murder in the First (1995)

  • Not many first-year students could take on a troll... ...and live to tell the tale.

    Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001)

  • I wouldn't have made it through my first year working for the Light Fae if it wasn't for her.

    The Last Summer (2013)

  • During her first-year at college, she made many new friends.

Synonyms

freshman
vsfirst-year
  • US
202 2.3

A student in their first year at high school or university

applies to any person in their initial year of work or study
frosh
vsfirst-year
  • Informal
2 8.0

A first-year student at high school or college

is the neutral general label for anyone in their initial year

Antonyms

senior
  • US
145 2.3

A student in the last year of high school or college

experienced
138 2.1

Someone who has a lot of skill and knowledge from doing something many times

How New

first-year
170 3.0
newcomer
123 1.6
experienced
138 2.1

Surface Forms

first-year positive
first-years positive

Morphology

first-year = first + year (transparent) = first + year

The meaning is a straightforward combination of the ordinal 'first' and 'year' indicating someone in their first year of an experience.

Etymology

First-year is a simple combination of first ('number one' or 'coming before others') and year ('one full year'). So, a first-year person is someone who is in their 'first' year of school, college, or a job.