apprentice
Americannoun
-
apprentices
plural
-
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)
-
apprentices,
present (3rd person singular)
-
apprenticed,
past participle, past
-
apprenticing
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
apprentices,
present (3rd person singular)
-
apprenticed,
past participle, past
-
apprenticing
present participle
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
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
apprenticesimple
-
apprenticessimple
-
have apprenticedperfect
-
has apprenticedperfect
-
am apprenticingprogressive
-
are apprenticingprogressive
-
is apprenticingprogressive
-
have been apprenticingperfect progressive
-
has been apprenticingperfect progressive
Past
-
apprenticedsimple
-
had apprenticedperfect
-
was apprenticingprogressive
-
were apprenticingprogressive
-
had been apprenticingperfect progressive
Future
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; see apprehensible) + Latin -īcius suffix forming adjectives from past participles, here nominalized
Explanation
An apprentice is someone who learns a trade. An apprentice farmer is paid very little but has the chance to learn farming by watching and doing. In the old days, becoming an apprentice was the only way to get into many lines of work. Nowadays we think of it more in terms of trades — butchers, bakers, bricklayers, etc. If you do the same thing in an office setting, it's usually called an internship, but the idea is the same — learning by watching an expert. The word can be used as either a noun or verb: You are an apprentice, but you also can apprentice to the barber down the street.
Vocabulary lists containing apprentice
May the 4th Be With You: Star Wars Words
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Hamilton
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
I'm New Here...
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
Ross Simmons, 77, thinks his great-grandfather, John Simmons, might have borrowed the book to help with his career, having worked as an apprentice stonemason in Westminster in the mid-1800s before becoming an architect in Australia.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
Marine Band, in which his father performed on trombone, as an apprentice.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 3, 2026
Christine is only slightly more experienced, no longer an atelier apprentice, but is just beginning to prove herself, constructing her first garment entirely on her own.
From Salon ● Jun. 29, 2026
"Does it really sound like the president of the United States to run a televised program for who would be his next apprentice?"
From Barron's ● Jun. 18, 2026
“The midwife’s apprentice is here to help you, my dear. Things will go easier now.”
From "The Midwife's Apprentice" by Karen Cushman
Tolman founder Chris Tolman says what Priestley is learning sets him apart from apprentices in mainstream car dealerships, who, due to digital tools, are increasingly becoming "just fitters".
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
But with tech having a growing influence over the curriculum, are apprentices now just learning how to run computer software, at the expense of the actual skills of a specific trade?
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
His scammers are hustlers and apprentices with lots of free time on their hands, freelancing in an informal economy of deception held together by cellphones and copied scripts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 14, 2026
Overall, Bloomberg said its latest spending will support these sorts of efforts in half a dozen states, including classroom renovations and paid work stipends for student apprentices.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 6, 2026
His apprentices ran to him with warnings, urging him to flee, but Painter Chen continued to calmly paint.
From "When the Sea Turned to Silver" by Grace Lin
"After his studies in London, he was apprenticed to other stonemasons to help in the construction of the Houses of Parliament," Simmons said.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
Samuel Slater, born in 1768 into a farming family in Derbyshire, England, was apprenticed at age 14 to the owner of a cotton mill that was using the novel Arkwright water frame.
From Barron's ● Jan. 28, 2026
She apprenticed at the Cleveland Playhouse at a time when the theater was venturing into musicals.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 3, 2025
Edwin Goodman apprenticed with Bergdorf and the two eventually became partners.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2025
“About tomorrow. You’re finished at Rekh’s. Come to the stonecutting shop at first light in the morning. You’re apprenticed to me now.”
From "The Golden Goblet" by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
Roth made his way to Bloomington, Ill., apprenticing himself to an architect, later returning to Chicago, where he found work on the 1893 World’s Columbian Exhibition.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 23, 2026
His uncles started a group called Banda La Movida, and Vallejo is still teaching himself acoustic guitar when he’s not apprenticing as a hat maker at Márquez Clásico, crafting tejanas and sombreros de charro.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 15, 2025
Some say she has been apprenticing as a cobbler in the Italian countryside; others, that she’s formed an ice cave—and won the trust of indigenous penguin tribes—in Antarctica.
From Slate ● May 25, 2024
By the next year, she was studying at Tokyo University of the Arts and apprenticing at Handa Kyuseido, a relative newcomer in the multigenerational-family conservator field.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 22, 2023
Mahmoud wanted Mohammed, and all of his sons, working on dry land, so Mohammed spent his early teenage years as a craftsman, laying brick and apprenticing for an ironsmith.
From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers
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.
