apprentice

American  

[uh-pren-tis] / əˈprɛn tɪs /

noun

1. a person who works for another in order to learn a trade.

   an apprentice to a plumber.

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

3. a learner; novice; tyro.

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

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

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verb (used with object)

apprenticed, apprenticing

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

verb (used without object)

apprenticed, apprenticing

1. to serve as an apprentice.

   He apprenticed for 14 years under a master silversmith.

apprentice British  

/ əˈprɛntɪs /

noun

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

2. any beginner or novice

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verb

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

Other Word Forms

• apprenticeship noun
• unapprenticed adjective

Etymology

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; apprehensible ) + Latin -īcius suffix forming adjectives from past participles, here nominalized

Example Sentences

Speaking of “Gangs of New York,” Mr. Scorsese had to convince Daniel Day-Lewis to return to acting—he was, at the time, a cobbler’s apprentice in Florence.

From The Wall Street Journal

After a short conversation, Clare had learned that the turtle spent his life as a beaver’s apprentice, and while he’d never been the fastest builder in the pond, he’d been the most diligent.

From Literature

He likely grew up apprenticing in his father’s studio, and in the 1510s he and his brother set off for Basel to work independently.

From The Wall Street Journal

So he swapped a Delhi suburb for a village in Germany's Black Forest region, where he's a baker's apprentice.

From BBC

These classes make Megan Riley, a paralegal apprentice, feel "empowered" and connected after her friends moved away to university.

From BBC

Related Words

• pupil