newcomer
Americannoun
noun
Usage
What does newcomer mean? A newcomer is a person who has recently arrived at a location or a person or thing that has recently joined a new environment, such as an occupation, workplace, field, or organization. A person who’s just moved to a new city could be described as a newcomer. The term could also be used to refer to a new player on a team, a new student at school, a new employee at work, or a nation that has just joined an international organization. A company that has just been established could be described as a newcomer in its industry or sector. Example: It’s the kind of gym where longtime members take bets on how long newcomers will last.
Etymology
Origin of newcomer
Explanation
When you show up at your first meeting of the local swim club and you're the only one who didn't bring a towel, it may be because you're a newcomer, or someone who's new at participating in a particular group. When you're a newcomer, you're an outsider just joining an activity or group. There are a lot of great words that have the same meaning as newcomer, like neophyte, rookie, and Johnny-come-lately. One popular slang term for newcomer is newbie, which is often shortened on the Internet to noob.
Vocabulary lists containing newcomer
100 SAT Words Beginning with "N"
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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.
He is a newcomer to political office whose campaign leans heavily on his personal experience of losing his Pacific Palisades home in the fire.
From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026
Technically, there’s no such thing as a newcomer tax.
From MarketWatch • May 1, 2026
But Bones remembered that, even as a newcomer, she projected “so much confidence.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 13, 2026
The public's seething anger over corruption, as exemplified in the Gen Z protests, was thus directed at the establishment, making the RSP - a relative newcomer - seem more attractive.
From BBC • Apr. 5, 2026
He’s sitting opposite, a newcomer, an interloper—a retired barrister with a square jaw, pitted nose, and great floppy ears.
From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
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.
