How to Use first-year in a Sentence

first-year

noun
  • Jackson is a first-year starter.
    — Michael Osipoff, Chicago Tribune, 27 Aug. 2025
  • The first-year coach looked overmatched.
    — Sean McIndoe, New York Times, 27 Apr. 2026
  • That’s pretty good for a first-year starter.
    — Cameron Teague Robinson, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2025
  • Groce will be a wild card as a first-year freshman.
    — Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 17 Jan. 2026
  • Groce will be a wild card as a first-year freshman.
    — Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 16 Jan. 2026
  • Groce will be a wild card as a first-year freshman.
    — Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 11 Jan. 2026
  • Groce will be a wild card as a first-year freshman.
    — Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 13 Jan. 2026
  • The award is strictly for first-year players.
    — Dianna Russini, New York Times, 13 Sep. 2025
  • Swift is a first-year ballot inductee.
    — Cathy Applefeld Olson, Forbes.com, 21 Jan. 2026
  • Johnson, of course, is the first-year head coach of the Bears.
    — Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Sep. 2025
  • So, too, is the first-year coach’s confidence.
    — Josh Yohe, New York Times, 7 Jan. 2026
  • For small, first-year trees, perhaps, but after that, not in my eyes.
    — Neil Sperry, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7 June 2024
  • At this time a year ago, Davis was a first-year starter for the Pios.
    — Corey Masisak, The Denver Post, 15 Nov. 2024
  • This was an eval from first-year edge coach Larry Knight.
    — Jeff Sentell, AJC.com, 15 May 2026
  • Virginia’s first-year coach Ryan Odom is on the list.
    — Miami Herald, 20 Feb. 2026
  • Then, the first-year head coach will do the same with each member of his coaching staff.
    — Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 4 Jan. 2026
  • But the first-year Legacy are starting to bank some points.
    — Boston Herald Staff, Boston Herald, 10 May 2026
  • Tavares had a strong start under first-year head coach Craig Berube.
    — Jonas Siegel, The Athletic, 26 Feb. 2025
  • So, what is going on with the first-year defender?
    — Matthew Schmidt, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Oct. 2025
  • Despite his first-year success, Brown didn’t reach the end zone.
    — Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 12 Mar. 2026
  • The first-year New York coach is still learning how things work here.
    — Pat Leonard, New York Daily News, 9 May 2026
  • Instead, the first-year skipper let out a soft whistle.
    — Spencer Nusbaum, New York Times, 23 June 2026
  • Ben Johnson, the team's first-year head coach, will be facing his old team.
    — Evan Massey, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Sep. 2025
  • Can the Wave build upon their first-year achievements, both at the gate on the field?
    — Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Mar. 2023
  • The fan base has hardly embraced first-year head coach Jerod Mayo.
    — Josh Kendall, The Athletic, 24 Dec. 2024
  • The state received more than $233 million in its first-year award.
    — Aaron Bolton, NPR, 26 Mar. 2026
  • The first-year head coach got Brees at 27 instead of a rookie.
    — Parker Gabriel, The Denver Post, 21 Apr. 2024
  • The first-year Mets had a roster of cast-offs from the expansion draft.
    — Patrick Saunders, Denver Post, 28 Sep. 2025
  • Forty-eight percent of Arkansans approve of the way first-year Gov.
    — Michael R. Wickline, Arkansas Online, 31 Oct. 2023
  • The sixth, seventh and eighth practices, the first-year head coach said, there tends to be a little dip.
    — Aaron Heisen, Daily News, 14 Apr. 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'first-year.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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