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.
“These programs, which allow hands-on training while earning a salary, are gaining popularity as an alternative to college, if the apprenticeship is certified and registered with the U.S. Department of Labor’s National Apprenticeship Act.”
From MarketWatch • Nov. 5, 2025
Returning to Canada in the early 1970s, Kotcheff directed 1974’s adaptation of Mordecai Richler’s “The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz” starring Richard Dreyfuss.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 11, 2025
Interest in the Beginning Farmers Apprenticeship Program also ramped up during Covid, and the five newest participants have just completed their eight-month session, which ended in July.
From Salon • Aug. 30, 2023
For Seattle public high schoolers considering the trades, Golosman gives out a 53-page booklet titled “Construction Apprenticeship Guidebook.”
From Seattle Times • Feb. 17, 2023
“The Apprenticeship spell isn’t the kind of thing you’d forget. It’s pretty intense, and it binds you to that magician forever. You two basically share the same magic.”
From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston
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.
