sophomore.
The second in a series, especially, the second of an artist’s albums or the second of four years in a high school (tenth grade) or university.
Meaning & usage
The second in a series, especially, the second of an artist’s albums or the second of four years in a high school (tenth grade) or university.
The band’s sophomore album built upon the success of their debut release, catapulting them to megastardom.
Sophomoric.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Ancient Greek σοφός (sophós) Proto-Indo-European *-id- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti Proto-Hellenic *-íd͏̌d͏̌ō Ancient Greek -ίζω (-ízō) Ancient Greek σοφίζω (sophízō) Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥ Proto-Hellenic *-mə Ancient Greek -μα (-ma) Ancient Greek σόφισμα (sóphisma)bor. English sophum, sophom Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Proto-Italic *-āzios Latin -āriusnom. Latin -āriusbor. Proto-Germanic *-ārijaz Proto-West Germanic *-ārī Old English -ere Middle English -ere English -er English sophumerder. English sophomore From earlier sophumer, from the obsolete sophom, sophum (“sophism or dialectical exercise”), from Ancient Greek σόφισμα (sóphisma). Likely influenced by Ancient Greek σοφός (sophós, “wise”) + μωρός (mōrós, “fool”). Compare oxymoron (literally “sharp-dull”), a similar contradiction.
A second-year undergraduate student in a college or university, or a second-year student in a four-year secondary school or high school.
She was very mature for a sophomore and had several friends who were juniors or even seniors.
A three-year-old horse.
The filly had looked promising as a sophomore, but concerns over her health had prompted the owner to pull her from the season’s early races.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Ancient Greek σοφός (sophós) Proto-Indo-European *-id- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti Proto-Hellenic *-íd͏̌d͏̌ō Ancient Greek -ίζω (-ízō) Ancient Greek σοφίζω (sophízō) Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥ Proto-Hellenic *-mə Ancient Greek -μα (-ma) Ancient Greek σόφισμα (sóphisma)bor. English sophum, sophom Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Proto-Italic *-āzios Latin -āriusnom. Latin -āriusbor. Proto-Germanic *-ārijaz Proto-West Germanic *-ārī Old English -ere Middle English -ere English -er English sophumerder. English sophomore From earlier sophumer, from the obsolete sophom, sophum (“sophism or dialectical exercise”), from Ancient Greek σόφισμα (sóphisma). Likely influenced by Ancient Greek σοφός (sophós, “wise”) + μωρός (mōrós, “fool”). Compare oxymoron (literally “sharp-dull”), a similar contradiction.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.