newbie
Americannoun
-
newbies
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of newbie
An Americanism first recorded in 1965–70; perhaps newb(orn) + -ie
Explanation
Newbie is a nickname for someone who is new to something. The new guy on a team or job is a newbie. Someone who just started using the internet is a newbie. Newbies are just starting out. This word — which has new right in it — is a slangy term for someone just starting an activity. A person on their first day at a job is a newbie. A first-time soccer player is a newbie. Freshmen are newbies. The opposite of a newbie is a veteran. Because newbies are inexperienced, they have a lot to learn. Newbies are also called rookies.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Many years ago, when I was a newbie newspaper reporter in the Boston Globe’s Washington bureau, one of my colleagues, Tom Oliphant, gave me a tip that I’ve cherished ever since.
From Slate ● Jun. 24, 2026
The site gives newbie agents training resources and marketing tools.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 13, 2026
In 2022, the political newbie won Kathmandu's mayoral race by a landslide as an independent candidate, triumphing over parties which had dominated elections for decades.
From BBC ● Mar. 26, 2026
“As a newbie to Orange County, I thought Rudy would be too much for” the area, Gradilla said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 24, 2026
See, I told Coach that if Lu and Ghost had to run, then so did I. That as a newbie, we also have to win and lose together, hold each other up.
From "Patina" by Jason Reynolds
In late 2024, the studio acquired Curious Refuge, an online AI school that teaches traditional artists and newbies to use generative AI tools for filmmaking.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026
One might also imagine that the 25th anniversary “Robot Chicken Adult Swim Special” would bring newbies up to speed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
For Mukherjea, the lesson is to buy blue chip Indian names that domestic newbies find boring and global investors have sidelined to chase AI stocks elsewhere.
From Barron's ● Nov. 20, 2025
Their experience also lets them notice AI mistakes newbies might miss.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 26, 2025
And then, of course, since this was the first Friday of the season, Coach was taking the newbies out for dinner.
From "Ghost" by Jason Reynolds
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
