greenhorn
Americannoun
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an untrained or inexperienced person.
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a naive or gullible person; someone who is easily tricked or swindled.
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Slang. a newly arrived immigrant; newcomer.
noun
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an inexperienced person, esp one who is extremely gullible
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a newcomer or immigrant
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of greenhorn
1425–75; late Middle English; see green, horn; originally applied to cattle with green (i.e., young) horns
Vocabulary lists containing greenhorn
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.
They include seasoned politicians, an activist, greenhorn or two and others.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 3, 2023
So to Ellis last August went a greenhorn trainer, Hamilton, then 28.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 9, 2022
I was listening to them talk of quality and seasonability when the young perfumer, with all the indelicacy of a greenhorn, announced, “I have some oudh.”
From New York Times ● May 10, 2021
Wily bank robber Wesley Snipes taunts a familiar-looking rough-and-ready cop while greenhorn Ryan Phillippe delivers a TED talk on chaos theory in this listless would-be thriller.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 25, 2019
Fresh arrivals to the Valentine farm made it so Cora was no longer the greenhorn, bumbling about.
From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
