Meaning & use
freshman student
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountableAmerican
A student in the first year of high school or college, especially in the US.
Grammar: Countable: say 'a freshman student' or 'two freshman students'; the plural adds -s to 'student', not to 'freshman'.
Patterns
- a freshman student at a school
- freshman students in college
My cousin is a freshman student at a state university in Ohio.
Freshman students often live in dormitories on campus.
As a freshman student, she found the large lecture halls a little intimidating.
nounbefore a nounAmerican
Used before another noun to describe things meant for or typical of first-year students.
Grammar: Attributive use: it comes directly before a noun, as in 'freshman student orientation' or 'freshman year'.
Patterns
- freshman student orientation
- freshman student housing
All freshman students must attend the orientation session in August.
The freshman student writing course is required for everyone in the program.
Word forms
| plural | freshman students |
|---|
Common combinations
- a freshman student at a university
- He was a freshman student at a university in California.
- freshman student orientation
- Freshman student orientation begins the week before classes.
- a group of freshman students
- A group of freshman students toured the library together.
- freshman student housing
- Freshman student housing is guaranteed for the first year.
Synonyms and how they differ
- first-year student
- The general term used in both American and British English; it sounds neutral and works in any country.
- fresher
- Common in British English for a first-year university student; it is informal and not used for high school.
- freshman
- The short form; it means the same but usually refers to the person rather than adding 'student'.
Word family
- freshman noun
- A first-year student, used on its own.
- freshman year noun
- The first year of high school or college.
Commonly confused: freshman student or sophomore? freshman student or freshmen?
freshman student vs sophomore
A sophomore is in the second year, not the first. The order is freshman, sophomore, junior, senior.
freshman student vs freshmen
'Freshmen' is the plural of 'freshman' (the person), while 'freshman students' is the plural of the full phrase.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'freshman student' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Freshman' stays the same and only 'student' takes the plural -s, so 'a freshman student' is correct. Option 1 wrongly adds -s to 'freshman', option 2 makes 'student' plural after 'a', and option 3 drops the article 'a'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “freshman student”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.