varsity

noun

var·​si·​ty ˈvär-sə-tē How to pronounce varsity (audio)
-stē
plural varsities
1
a
: the principal squad representing a university, college, school, or club especially in a sport
2
British : university

Examples of varsity in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Worn side-flipped, smooth and immaculately neat, Hadid kept the ends softly flipped and paired it with a monochrome outfit—complete with matrix sunglasses, a black knitted sweater layered under a black pinstripe blazer, black leggings, black loafers and white varsity socks. Elle Turner, Glamour, 16 Mar. 2024 Anderson rattled off six varsity players who missed multiple games during the regular season. Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 6 Mar. 2024 Cesar Chavez's varsity football coach and athletic director resigned in September. The Arizona Republic, 4 Mar. 2024 One was a left tackle on North Side High’s first varsity football team in 1911 and later starred as a guard at TCU. Hollace Ava Weiner, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 2 Mar. 2024 Those 55 high school wrestlers consist of the varsity and the junior varsity. Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 28 Feb. 2024 Nearly 70 Greendale High School students, members of Greendale High School's varsity cheer team and Greendale High School's Pep Band, collaborated to compete as part of Greendale High School's Game Day LIVE! Alec Johnson, Journal Sentinel, 12 Feb. 2024 Long Reach boys basketball senior RJ Barnes Jr. is a multi-year varsity starter. Jacob Steinberg, Baltimore Sun, 12 Feb. 2024 The youngest of the group is Nadia, a 14 year old freshman starting on varsity. Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'varsity.' 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

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of varsity was in 1646

Dictionary Entries Near varsity

Cite this Entry

“Varsity.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/varsity. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

varsity

noun
var·​si·​ty ˈvär-sət-ē How to pronounce varsity (audio)
-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

More from Merriam-Webster on varsity

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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