noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of trainee
Explanation
If you're a trainee, you're being taught to do a new job. If you're hired at your local grocery store, you'll likely spend some time as a trainee before you're allowed to work the cash register on your own. Whenever someone goes through training, especially for a new job or skill, they can be called a trainee. If you're learning a new computer coding language, you might be a Python or Java trainee. And if you're in your first week at a coffee shop job, you're probably still a barista trainee. Trainee dates back to the mid-19th century, from the verb train, "instruct."
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:
As a chaplaincy trainee, I entered the hospital expecting to encounter ritual in overtly religious settings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026
Through the scheme, which the Treasury says will roll out across England from March 2027, local teams plan to match young people with employers, including small businesses that have never taken on a trainee.
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026
As he finished helping a fellow trainee gear up, one paratrooper wished another good luck with a firm handshake.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
He has no problem expressing his displeasure at being inconvenienced by his unwanted trainee or earthbound law enforcement officers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026
There was a symmetry in this, as R-and-W had been the place where I’d spent my first, awful day as a Sing Sing trainee more than eight months before.
From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover
Scientists and trainees from several other institutions also collaborated on portions of the work.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 25, 2026
She declined to disclose her salary, but trainees in her field are reported to make $70,000 to $80,000.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026
The talent pool McKinnon pulls from includes theater managers, retired projectionists, trainees from specialized college programs and even workers in other professions who take PTO for the occasion.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
To graduate, trainees must pass an exam where they cook for a panel of expert judges.
From Barron's ● Jul. 2, 2026
Lucky Level Three and Four trainees screamed as their numbers were announced and their friends flocked to them.
From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton
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.
