junior

/ˈdʒunjər/

/ˈdʒunjə/

Other forms: juniors

Use the word junior to describe things that are intended for young people, like the junior chess tournament for elementary school kids or the junior department in a clothing store, with kid-sized sweaters and jeans.

Junior is used to mean "younger," so you might describe your cousin as being six years your junior. It also means "lower in rank," so new representatives in Congress are often called "junior members," and workers are described as junior to others higher in the company hierarchy. As a noun, a junior is in the third year of high school or college, and if you share your dad's name, he is Julio Smith and you are Julio Smith, Junior.

Definitions of junior

1. adjective

   including or intended for youthful persons
   “a junior sports league”

   “junior fashions”

   synonyms:

   immature, young

   (used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth
2. adjective

   younger; lower in rank; shorter in length of tenure or service
   synonyms:

   immature, young

   (used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth

   junior-grade, lower-ranking, lowly, petty, secondary, subaltern

   inferior in rank or status

   minor

   of the younger of two boys with the same family name

   jr., younger

   used of the younger of two persons of the same name especially used to distinguish a son from his father

   subordinate

   subject or submissive to authority or the control of another

   antonyms:

   senior

   older; higher in rank; longer in length of tenure or service

   old

   (used especially of persons) having lived for a relatively long time or attained a specific age

   elder, older, sr.

   used of the older of two persons of the same name especially used to distinguish a father from his son

   major

   of the elder of two boys with the same family name

   precedential

   having precedence (especially because of longer service)

   higher-ranking, ranking, superior

   having a higher rank
3. adjective

   used of the third or next to final year in United States high school or college
   “the junior class”

   synonyms: next-to-last, third-year

   intermediate

   lying between two extremes in time or space or state
4. noun

   the younger of two persons
   “she is two years my junior”

   type of:

   individual, mortal, person, somebody, someone, soul

   a human being
5. noun

   a third-year undergraduate
   type of:

   lowerclassman, underclassman

   an undergraduate who is not yet a senior
6. noun

   term of address for a disrespectful and annoying male
   “look here, junior, it's none of your business”

   type of:

   arriviste, nouveau-riche, parvenu, upstart

   a person who has suddenly risen to a higher economic status but has not gained social acceptance of others in that class