redshirt

red·shirt

R r

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [red-shurt]
- /ˈrɛdˌʃɜrt/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [red-shurt]
- /ˈrɛdˌʃɜrt/

Definitions of redshirt word

noun redshirt a high-school or college athlete kept out of varsity competition for one year to develop skills and extend eligibility. a child held back from starting kindergarten for one year, the practice of which is believed by some parents to give the child academic, athletic, and social advantages. 1
noun redshirt a character in a TV show or movie who dies soon after being first introduced: She's a redshirt who won’t make it to the next scene. 1
verb with object redshirt to withdraw (an athlete) from varsity competition for one year. to delay (a child) from starting kindergarten for one year: They redshirt their kids because they think it gives them a competitive edge. 1
verb with object redshirt to quickly kill off (a character) in a TV show or movie: That guard is totally going to be redshirted in the next five minutes. 1
verb without object redshirt (of an athlete) to withdraw from varsity competition for one year: He redshirted in 2010, only to come back faster and stronger the following season. to delay a child from starting kindergarten for one year: Would you redshirt if your kid’s preschool teacher recommended it? 1
verb redshirt (of a college athlete) to take a year out of a sports team 0

See all 8 definitions of redshirt

Information block about the term

Origin of redshirt

First appearance:

before 1950

One of the 5% newest English words

1950-55, Americanism; def 1 from the red shirts worn in practice by such athletes; def 2 in reference to the original Star Trek series (1966-69) in which characters in red shirts, usually security personnel or engineers, were often killed off as a plot device

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Redshirt

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of Redshirt

redshirt popularity

A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 47% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.

This word is included in each student's vocabulary. Most likely there is at least one movie with this word in the title.

redshirt usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer