sophomore

1 of 2

noun

soph·​o·​more
ˈsäf-ˌmȯr,
 also  ˈsȯf-,
 or  ˈsä-fə-,
or
ˈsȯ-fə- How to pronounce sophomore (audio)
: a student in the second year at college or a 4-year secondary school

sophomore

2 of 2

adjective

: being or associated with the second in a series
their sophomore album

Examples of sophomore in a Sentence

Noun She's a sophomore in high school.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
The author, who debuted in 2023 with All the Right Notes, is bringing his Filipino heritage and his love for the art of drag to the page in his sophomore novel. Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 6 Mar. 2024 Van Horn said sophomore right-hander Ben Bybee, who contracted mononucleosis just after a hamstring issue, could be back next week. Tom Murphy, arkansasonline.com, 5 Mar. 2024 Bain, heading into his sophomore season, was given the honor of tossing the first pitch Friday night in the opening game of the three-game series against the No. 4 Florida Gators. Susan Miller Degnan, Miami Herald, 2 Mar. 2024 White chose another Four Seasons property for his sophomore season: Four Seasons San Domenico Palace in the hilltop town of Taormina, overlooking the Ionian Sea with brooding Mount Etna in the distance. Nicole Kliest, Vogue, 1 Mar. 2024 Booker was dominant during his redshirt sophomore season at KU, earning All-Big 12 first-team and Big 12 defensive newcomer of the year honors as part of a 56-tackle, eight-sack season. Jesse Newell, Kansas City Star, 1 Mar. 2024 Kool-Aid McKinstry, CB, Alabama, Jr. McKinstry started as a true freshman in a Nick Saban defense and was first-team All-SEC his sophomore season. Eddie Brown, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Feb. 2024 Miranda McKeon — who appeared in the Netflix series 'Anne with an E' — was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 19 Anne with an E actress Miranda McKeon, 22, was diagnosed with breast cancer during her sophomore year in college. Zoey Lyttle, Peoplemag, 28 Feb. 2024 Scott missed the entirety of her freshman season and part of her sophomore season. Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 Feb. 2024
Adjective
Lim scored 15, Tanger 14 and sophomore big man Nick Mego had 10. Glenn Reeves, The Mercury News, 28 Feb. 2024 Also in that mix will be sophomore Lincoln Kienholz and heralded QB recruit Air Noland, who is already on campus. Mitch Stacy, USA TODAY, 19 Jan. 2024 The 34-year-old Kansas City Chiefs star lent his vocal talents to A Philly Special Christmas, the Philadelphia Eagles' musical trio's sophomore Christmas album. Natasha Dye, Peoplemag, 15 Nov. 2023 Sunday, the Bulldogs secured a commitment from sophomore Central Arkansas transfer Camren Hunter. Akeem Glaspie, The Indianapolis Star, 9 Apr. 2023 The scrimmage starters from tackle to tackle were sophomore Christian Jones, juniors Cade Bennett, Dean Abdullah and Thomas Mirabella and redshirt freshman Drew Azzopardi. Kirk Kenney, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Mar. 2023 Hoover super-sophomore Reniya Kelly led all scorers with 23 points while Aniya Hubbard added 10 points. Dennis Victory, al, 23 Jan. 2021 The lone player from a Bay Area school who made the 10-woman All-WCC first team was sophomore guard Sam Simons of St. Mary’s. Steve Kroner, SFChronicle.com, 3 Mar. 2020 The student readers will be sophomore Lara Connor and junior Tunji Osho-Williams. Carole Goldberg, courant.com, 5 Nov. 2019

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sophomore.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

perhaps from Greek sophos wise + mōros foolish

First Known Use

Noun

1688, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

1953, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of sophomore was in 1688

Dictionary Entries Near sophomore

Cite this Entry

“Sophomore.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sophomore. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

sophomore

noun
soph·​o·​more
ˈsäf-ˌmō(ə)r,
-ˌmȯ(ə)r;
ˈsäf-ᵊm-ˌō(ə)r,
-ˌȯ(ə)r
: a student in his or her second year at a 4-year high school or college
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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