redshirt
to withdraw (a player) from a varsity team for a year so that the player will be eligible for athletics an extra year later
Origin of redshirt
from the traditional red shirts worn by the scrimmage team, with whom such players may continue to practice such a player
redshirt
noun
A college athlete who is allowed to practice with the varsity team but is kept out of competition for one year in order to extend the athlete's period of eligibility.
transitive verb
red·shirt·ed, red·shirt·ing, red·shirtsTo make (a student) a redshirt.
Origin of redshirt
From the red jerseys worn by such athletes to distinguish them from the regular playersredshirt
Noun
(plural redshirts)
- (US, collegiate sports) an athlete who spends a year not participating in official athletic activities, but does not lose his or her eligibility to participate in following years
Verb
(third-person singular simple present redshirts, present participle redshirting, simple past and past participle redshirted)
- (US, collegiate sports) to place an athlete in a status wherein the athlete will spend a year not participating in official athletic activities, but will not lose his or her eligibility to participate in following years.
- The university decided to redshirt the freshman linebacker to give him an extra year to build up his bulk.
- (US) To hold a child out of kindergarten for one year in the hope that the child will do better academically and socially.
- Parents who redshirt their 5-year-olds instead of enrolling them in kindergarten are a concern to some Nebraska educators who are trying to reverse the trend of holding children back until age 6 to start school. "”"Some Educators Oppose Redshirting 5-Year-Olds," The Omaha World-Herald, March 1, 1985
Origin
red +"Ž shirt. Derived from the red jersey commonly worn by a player meeting this definition in practice scrimmages against the regulars.
Noun
(plural redshirts)
- (fiction, science fiction) An unimportant character introduced only to be killed in order to underscore the peril to the important characters; an expendable character.
- Sensing danger, Captain Kirk decided to beam down to the surface with Spock, McCoy, and a couple of redshirts.
Origin
red +"Ž shirt. From the tendency of red-shirted ensigns in the original Star Trek television series to die prematurely.
Noun
(plural redshirts)
