redshirt

  1. Noun.  (US, collegiate) 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.
  2. Verb.  (US, collegiate) 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.
  3. Verb.  (US) To hold a child out of kindergarten for one year in the hope that the child will do better academically and socially.
  4. Noun.  (context, fiction) An unimportant character introduced only to be killed in order to underscore the peril to the important characters; an expendable character.
  5. Noun.  (US, _) A person responsible for loading and unloading weapons, artillery, and equipment from aircraft.

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This entry was last updated on RefTopia from its source on 3/20/2012.