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.
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.
“There’s not a person in the world that has had that type of three-decade apprenticeship with someone of that stature,” O’Rourke told MarketWatch.
From MarketWatch • May 1, 2026
Duncan Aviation, like other companies, pays workers while they go through its apprenticeship program and covers their testing costs.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 26, 2026
A. Bank and other chains, is updating its apprenticeship program to include more self-guided videos with the goal of moving people through the training faster.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 21, 2026
Carl Bembridge, from Bristol, began an apprenticeship at Redfield's Cohesion Hair as a "shy" schoolboy, having undergone 11 operations due to the bone condition rickets.
From BBC • Apr. 19, 2026
Before her apprenticeship, when she did a standard search for things, the Thunderhead would invariably intrude, saying something like, I see you are searching for a gift.
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
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.
