VocabularyBasePractice words

Meaning & use

a letterman

noun, adjective·Everyday

Last updated

UK/ə ˈletəmən/
US/ə ˈletərmən/

Meanings

  1. nouncountableAmerican

    A student who has earned a school letter for playing on a varsity sports team.

    Grammar: Countable noun; use a/an or the before it, and add -s for plural: two lettermen.

    Patterns

    • be a letterman
    • become a letterman
    • a letterman in something

    My older brother was a letterman in football and track.

    She became a letterman after her third season on the varsity team.

    Only a few students are lettermen in two different sports.

  2. adjectivebefore a nounAmerican

    Describing a style of jacket, sweater, or award given to a student who has earned a school letter.

    Grammar: Used only before a noun, as in 'a letterman jacket' or 'a letterman sweater'.

    Patterns

    • letterman jacket
    • letterman sweater
    • letterman award

    He wore his letterman jacket to the homecoming game.

    The school gave her a letterman sweater for her achievements in swimming.

    Letterman jackets usually have the school's initials on the chest.

Word forms

plurallettermen

Common combinations

letterman jacket
He zipped up his letterman jacket as the wind picked up.
become a letterman
She worked hard for four years to become a letterman in soccer.
a letterman in football
He was a letterman in football and baseball.
letterman sweater
The letterman sweater was dark blue with a white letter.

Synonyms and how they differ

athlete
Athlete is a general word for anyone who plays sports, while letterman specifically means a student who has earned a school letter.
varsity player
Varsity player means someone on the main school team, but not all varsity players become lettermen; they must meet the school's letter requirements.

Word family

letter noun
The embroidered symbol a student earns for sports achievement, often the first letter of the school's name.
lettering noun
The act or process of earning a school letter, or the letters themselves on a jacket.

Commonly confused: a letterman or letterman (British English)?

a letterman vs letterman (British English)

In British English, letterman is not a common word for a student athlete; it may refer to a person who delivers letters, but that is old-fashioned and usually 'postman' or 'mail carrier'.

Practice

Complete the sentence: After three years on the varsity swim team, Maria finally became ___.

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “a letterman”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

Your sentence stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.

Explore more words