tyro
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of tyro
First recorded in 1605–15, tyro is from the Latin word tīrō “recruit”
Explanation
A tyro is a beginner, a new recruit, or someone who is just learning something. If you are the new guy at the job and you're wearing a big badge that says "Trainee" on it, you are a tyro. Tyro isn't used much these days but it's similar to newbie, novice, or recruit. We have all been tyros at some point. Tyro can also be used as an adjective to describe someone new to a particular scene — such as "the tyro congressman" or "the tyro quarterback."
Vocabulary lists containing tyro
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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:
Previous Lincoln scholars have treated the Lyceum Speech more as an outburst than an oration, at best the overwrought declamation of a gifted tyro.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2025
I didn’t see that coming — not that a mystery tyro like me ever sees anything coming on this show.
From New York Times ● Apr. 3, 2023
Grammar and pronunciation Telltale tyro signs include adding definite articles to freeway names.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 30, 2023
Kushner comes across as an overconfident tyro who condescendingly feeds uninformed advice to professionals with far more wisdom and expertise than he will ever have.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 26, 2022
“Tyro to ground, tyro to ground,” came the call from the training aircraft.
From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein
France’s tyros – most of the team are playing their first Six Nations – showed poise in the biggest moments against the most experienced side ever fielded in the championship.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 22, 2020
Geoff Lemon salutes the tyros who bowled their side to the brink of victory.
From The Guardian ● Aug. 24, 2019
Indeed, 90-somethings have been joined by younger generations of tyros.
From New York Times ● Aug. 11, 2016
U.S. forces then withdrew, according to Kurdish fighters involved in the battle, leaving an armored Toyota Landcruiser by the side of the road, its tyros flat.
From Reuters ● May 5, 2016
Those of his successors in each branch of natural philosophy with whom I was acquainted appeared even to my boy’s apprehensions as tyros engaged in the same pursuit.
From "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley
Definitions 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.
