junior
ju·nior/ˈd͡ʒuniɚ/adjective, noun, verb
junior is spelled J-U-N-I-O-R: 6 letters and 2 syllables (ju·nior). It appears 31 times per million words in written English, the 3,052nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, junior means “Low in rank; having a subordinate role, job, or situation” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in junior?
| Letters | 6: J-U-N-I-O-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: ju·nior |
| In writing | 31 times per million words; the 3,052nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is junior?
Junior appears 31 times per million words in written English, the 3,052nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce junior?
- UK /ˈd͡ʒuːniə/
- US /ˈd͡ʒuniɚ/
Junior has 2 syllables, split ju·nior in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-junior.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of junior
- more junior comparative
- most junior superlative
- juniour
- juniors plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- junioring participle, present
- juniored participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does junior mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Low in rank; having a subordinate role, job, or situation.
He uses the leverage of seniority with the more junior employees.
- 2
Younger.
- 3
Belonging to a younger person, or an earlier time of life.
- 4
USOf or pertaining to a third academic year in a four-year high school (eleventh grade) or university.
- 5
CommonwealthIrelandUKOf or pertaining to the latter half of primary school education.
- 6
CanadaUSOf or pertaining to a league or competition limited to players below a certain age or level of experience.
junior hockey
- 7
Synonym of younger.
noun
- 1
A younger person.
four years his junior
- 2
A name suffix used after a son's name when his father has the same name (abbreviations: Jnr., Jr., Jun.).
- 3
A clothing size for girls or women.
- 4
USA third-year student at a high school or university.
- 5
CommonwealthIrelandUKA student in a junior school or the second part of a primary school.
- 6
A junior barrister.
verb
- 1
To work in a junior role (on something).
- 2
To have juniors (more advanced students) assist in instructing (beginners).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate junior?
Wiktionary records 5 abbreviations of junior: Jr., Jun., jnr., jun., junr..
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Junior in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense younger:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does junior come from?
Borrowed from Latin junior, a contraction of iuvenior (“younger”) which is the comparative of iuvenis (“young”); see juvenile.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).