fresher

English

Pronunciation

• (non-rhotic)
  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈfɹɛʃ.ə/, [ˈfɹʷɛʃ.ə]

    • Audio (Southern England):

      (file)

• (rhotic)
  • (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈfɹɛʃ.ɚ/, [ˈfɹʷɛʃ.ɚ] ~ [ˈfɹʷɛʃ.ɹ̩]
• Rhymes: -ɛʃə(ɹ)
• Hyphenation: fresh‧er

Etymology 1

Etymology tree

English fresh

English -er

English fresher

From fresh + -er (comparative suffix).

Adjective

fresher

1. comparative form of fresh: more fresh

Etymology 2

From a clipping of freshman +‎ -er (Oxford -er).

Noun

fresher (plural freshers)

1. (UK) A first-year student at a university.
2. (India) A fresh graduate looking for his/her first job.

Usage notes

• Fresher is much more commonly used than freshman in the United Kingdom.

Synonyms

• (first year student): freshman (now chiefly US), frosh (US)

Hypernyms

• See Thesaurus:beginner

Derived terms

• fresherdom
• freshers' week

Anagrams

• refresh