sophomore

[ sof-uh-mawr, -mohr; sof-mawr, -mohr ]

noun

1. a student in the second year of high school or college.
2. a person or group in the second year of any endeavor:

   He's a sophomore on Wall Street.

adjective

1. of or relating to a sophomore.
2. of or being a second effort or second version:

   Their sophomore album was even better than their first.

sophomore

/ ˈsɒfəˌmɔː /

noun

1. a second-year student at a secondary (high) school or college

adjective

1. (of a book, recording, etc by an artist) second

   her sophomore album

Other Words From

• pre·sopho·more adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of sophomore¹

1645–55; earlier sophumer, probably equivalent to sophum sophism + -er ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of sophomore¹

C17: perhaps from earlier sophumer, from sophum, variant of sophism + -er ¹

Example Sentences

Reyes finished his sophomore season with 1,520 yards and 22 touchdowns.

From Los Angeles Times

One is for highly gifted students, who may be well into college material in some areas while still high school sophomores.

From Los Angeles Times

Perhaps the No. 1 goalie to watch this season is sophomore Jackson Friedman, who had seven shutouts as a freshman for the Mission League champion Wolverines.

From Los Angeles Times

“I don’t want to say we take her accolades for granted. But sometimes, it’s like, ‘Wow she’s four games into her sophomore year and has scored 1,000 points.’

From Los Angeles Times

A new album I’ve been enjoying quite a bit lately is “Seed of a Seed,” the sharply written sophomore effort from the Portland folk singer Haley Heynderickx.

From New York Times

Related Words

• graduate
• junior
• pupil
• scholar
• undergraduate