apprentice

[ uh-pren-tis ]

/ əˈprɛn tɪs /

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See synonyms for: apprentice / apprenticed / apprenticing / apprenticeship on Thesaurus.com

noun

a person who works for another in order to learn a trade: an apprentice to a plumber.

History/Historical. a person legally bound through indenture to a master craftsman in order to learn a trade.

a learner; novice; tyro.

U.S. Navy. an enlisted person receiving specialized training.

a jockey with less than one year's experience who has won fewer than 40 races.

verb (used with object), ap·pren·ticed, ap·pren·tic·ing.

to bind to or place with an employer, master craftsman, or the like, for instruction in a trade.

verb (used without object), ap·pren·ticed, ap·pren·tic·ing.

to serve as an apprentice: He apprenticed for 14 years under a master silversmith.

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Origin of apprentice

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English ap(p)rentis, from Anglo-French, Old French ap(p)rentiz, from unattested Vulgar Latin apprenditīcius, equivalent to unattested apprendit(us) (for Latin apprehēnsus; see apprehensible) + Latin -īcius suffix forming adjectives from past participles, here nominalized

OTHER WORDS FROM apprentice

ap·pren·tice·ship, nounun·ap·pren·ticed, adjective

Words nearby apprentice

appreciatory, apprehend, apprehensible, apprehension, apprehensive, apprentice, apprenticeship, appressed, appressorium, apprise, apprised

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use apprentice in a sentence

Holly Walker, an apprentice ski guide with the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides and a former ski patroller at Whistler Blackcomb Ski Resort, opts to wear her device in-bounds, too.
Know How to Use Your Avalanche Transceiver|Amelia Arvesen|March 2, 2021|Outside Online
Master artists taught apprentices “how to draw, make the composition and pose the colors.”
In a gray, empty Paris, this corner shop’s colorful posters transport you wherever you want to go|Lily Radziemski|February 19, 2021|Washington Post
For instance, wage subsidies would enable employers to take on the risk of hiring apprentices, a practice that used to be common but is now rare in the United States.
How to fix what the innovation economy broke about America|Katie McLean|February 17, 2021|MIT Technology Review
Easily the story’s most fascinating character, Lydia has plenty to say about fate but thrives by imposing her will on others—including Anna, whom she manipulates into becoming her apprentice.
In Starz's Enchanting The Luminaries, Fate and Free Will Battle Amid New Zealand's Gold Rush|Judy Berman|February 12, 2021|Time

Without being overbearing or assertive, Gerace had gently taken us under his wing for our full education, both within science and without, as the master painters did with their apprentices in the 17th and 18th centuries.
Five Scientists on the Heroes Who Changed Their Lives - Issue 93: Forerunners|Alan Lightman, Hope Jahren, Robert Sapolsky,|December 2, 2020|Nautilus
Whatever the excuse, in 2008 we were all subjected to Celebrity Apprentice.
Donald Trump Fires Woman For Not Calling Bill Cosby|Jack Holmes, The Daily Beast Video|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Cocker, for his part, worked briefly as an apprentice gasfitter but decided to take the plunge into the world of commercial music.
The Greatest Rock Voice of All Time Belonged to Joe Cocker|Ted Gioia|December 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The former apprentice engineer retained a lifelong interest in the way things worked.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days|David Freeman|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Now, the onetime Lloyd Kaufman/Troma apprentice is the toast of Tinseltown.
‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ Filmmaker James Gunn on His Glorious Space Opera and Rise to the A-List|Marlow Stern|August 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
At one point, the host of Celebrity Apprentice that Tea Partiers need to stop supporting doomed candidates.
Donald Trump Is Still A Birther|David Freedlander|May 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The young apprentice was of middle height, very well built, amazingly active, and able to bear the utmost fatigue.
Napoleon's Marshals|R. P. Dunn-Pattison
If she lasts a couple of hours, I shall be surprised, said the apothecarys apprentice, intent upon the toothpicks point.
Oliver Twist, Vol. II (of 3)|Charles Dickens
He was an apprentice to a wig and curl maker, when Whitefield attracted his attention, and he became a methodist preacher.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology|Joel Munsell
Shortly after this the youngest apprentice went below, and found the ill-used lad standing on a locker, and gibbering fearfully.
The Chequers|James Runciman
An apprentice who is qualifying himself to operate an elevator is an employee within the Minnesota Act.
Putnam's Handy Law Book for the Layman|Albert Sidney Bolles

British Dictionary definitions for apprentice

apprentice

/ (əˈprɛntɪs) /

noun

someone who works for a skilled or qualified person in order to learn a trade or profession, esp for a recognized period

any beginner or novice

verb

(tr) to take, place, or bind as an apprentice

Derived forms of apprentice

apprenticeship, noun

Word Origin for apprentice

C14: from Old French aprentis, from Old French aprendre to learn, from Latin apprehendere to apprehend

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

apprentice

Origin of apprentice

OTHER WORDS FROM apprentice

Words nearby apprentice

Words related to apprentice

How to use apprentice in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for apprentice

Derived forms of apprentice

Word Origin for apprentice