REDSHIRT

Etymology 1

Noun

redshirt (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

redshirt (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.

(US, collegiate sports) To take on a status wherein one will spend a year not participating in official athletic activities.

(US) To hold a child out of kindergarten for one year in the hope that the child will do better academically and socially.

Etymology 2

Noun

redshirt (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.