newbie
Americannoun
-
newbies
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of newbie
An Americanism first recorded in 1965–70; perhaps newb(orn) + -ie
Explanation
Newbie is a nickname for someone who is new to something. The new guy on a team or job is a newbie. Someone who just started using the internet is a newbie. Newbies are just starting out. This word — which has new right in it — is a slangy term for someone just starting an activity. A person on their first day at a job is a newbie. A first-time soccer player is a newbie. Freshmen are newbies. The opposite of a newbie is a veteran. Because newbies are inexperienced, they have a lot to learn. Newbies are also called rookies.
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:
Not if you’re a newbie trying to join an intergalactic police force devoted to stopping interplanetary outrages.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Many years ago, when I was a newbie newspaper reporter in the Boston Globe’s Washington bureau, one of my colleagues, Tom Oliphant, gave me a tip that I’ve cherished ever since.
From Slate ● Jun. 24, 2026
I asked the queen what a newbie like me should know about visiting her village.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 10, 2026
Polaris veterans probably don’t get excited about it, but this newbie enjoyed the ice-cream sundae cart wheeled to each seat.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 1, 2026
But I’d been watching Roli go to school here for a while, so even as a newbie I knew that wasn’t the right answer, not at Seaward.
From "Merci Suárez Changes Gears" by Meg Medina
Spohn cites “Game of Thrones,” “Lord of the Rings,” “Dungeons & Dragons,” “Star Wars” and even “The Parent Trap” as some of the more popular cultural inspirations for newbies.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026
Sasha Rand, 14, took her pink travel mahjong set to Camp Nock-a-Mixon, near Allentown, Penn., armed with a cheat sheet so the newbies could easily see which suits go together.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
Best For VPN newbies who want the gentlest introduction possible, or anyone who needs quick privacy protection for specific tasks.
From Salon ● Jun. 2, 2026
For Mukherjea, the lesson is to buy blue chip Indian names that domestic newbies find boring and global investors have sidelined to chase AI stocks elsewhere.
From Barron's ● Nov. 20, 2025
"Today is Wednesday, and Mikey, why don't you inform our newbies about what sprinters do on Wednesdays," Coach said.
From "Ghost" by Jason Reynolds
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
