apprenticeship
Americannoun
-
a program or position in which someone learns a trade by working under a certified expert.
The course provides students with a good base for securing apprenticeships in the plumbing and gasfitting industries.
-
the state or position of any learner or novice.
His apprenticeship in political struggle was gained in the Spanish Civil War.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of apprenticeship
Explanation
Apprenticeship is a kind of job training that involves following and studying a master of the trade on the job instead of in school. Carpenters, masons, doctors, and many other professionals often learn their trade through apprenticeship. The word apprenticeship comes from the Old French aprentiz meaning "someone learning" and the Anglian suffix -scip, meaning "state, condition of being." An apprenticeship is when someone is in a state or condition of learning from a master in a field. Some professions even have apprenticeship programs like the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers where you can be assigned to apprentice, or study under a professional electrician.
Vocabulary lists containing apprenticeship
"Creativity at Work" and "The Hidden Secrets of the Creative Mind"
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The State of the Union Address 2015
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Obama's State of the Union Address, 2014
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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:
Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said: "By providing bursaries to those who need them most and fully funding apprenticeship training, we are making sure cost is not the reason someone misses out."
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
Lithwick: Chase decided, in a very truncated opinion, that Turner’s apprenticeship violated the 13th Amendment’s prohibition of involuntary servitude and the Civil Rights Act of 1866.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
The novel’s great achievement lies in its language, which forces the reader into a cognitive apprenticeship before revealing the cost of what we call progress.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
Scottish shipyards do have strong apprenticeship programmes and BAE has opened a shipbuilding academy at Scotstoun.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
Meme bore up under the exhibitions with the same stoicism that she had dedicated to her apprenticeship.
From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
The committee also said there were "policy contradictions", with benefits cuts for people in training undermining the government's drive to encourage apprenticeships, describing the "lack of coherence" as "inexcusable".
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
As a result, apprenticeships are moving up the education value chain.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
One innovative idea would be to connect the next generation of builders—the entrepreneurs seeking to reindustrialize America—with young people seeking apprenticeships in a physical space that enables both to realize their ambitions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
The Dutch system creates the opportunity for lots of hands-on experiences through work-study pathways, employer partnerships, and state-supported apprenticeships.
From BBC ● Jun. 7, 2026
A representative for the steamfitters and pipefitters union offers information about apprenticeships leading to work that pays between $17 and $29 an hour.
From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove
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.
