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Glite Dictionary
🏀 Junior team member 🏀 Junior varsity
jayvee

jayvee

1 8.5
A school sports team for younger or less experienced players than varsity
  • noun
  • /ˈdʒeɪvi/
  • Informal
translation icon : junior varsity
  • After practicing all season, the jayvee squad finally earned a spot in the championship match.
  • jayvee team

Examples

  • Jayvee crew, go see Charlie.

    Heart of Champions (2021)

  • The jayvee team put in a strong effort during their last game, showcasing the talent of younger players.

  • Many players aspire to join the jayvee team before moving up to varsity next year.

Synonyms

JV
vsjayvee
  • Jargon
12 4.2

A school or college sports team for younger and less experienced players than the varsity team

is the informal spoken or phonetic spelling of the same name
junior varsity
vsjayvee
  • US
5 4.5

A school or college sports team below the main team, often for younger players

is the informal spoken or abbreviated form used in schools

How Competitive

professional
16 3.5
varsity
45 4.4
jayvee
  • Informal
1 8.5

Surface Forms

jayvee singular
jayvees plural

Morphology

jayvee = junior + varsity (transparent) = J + V

The lexical form spells out the initials J.V. which abbreviate 'junior varsity', so the connection to the team sense is direct.

Etymology

Jayvee comes from the letters J V, short for junior varsity, which are said 'jay' and 'vee', and junior means 'younger' while varsity means 'the main team'. As a noun it names the junior team or a player on that team, the team 'below varsity'.