trainee

American  

[trey-nee] / treɪˈni /

noun

1. a person being trained, especially in a vocation; apprentice.

2. an enlisted person undergoing military training.

---

trainee British  

/ treɪˈniː /

noun

1. 1. a person undergoing training

   2. ( as modifier )

      a trainee journalist

---

Etymology

Origin of trainee

First recorded in 1840–50; train + -ee

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

A trainee paediatric nurse has started a peer-led support group for women who are waiting for a diagnosis or living with gynaecological health conditions.

From BBC • Apr. 20, 2026

A gladiator, it seems, moved up the ranks—often through training and victories in the arena—“like a trainee orator moving from imaginary speeches to those of the courtroom.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

West Midlands Railway, which has routes across the whole of the West Midlands, said it had increased the percentage of female trainee drivers in its workforce by nearly 9% since 2021, from 13.8% to 22.5%.

From BBC • Mar. 21, 2026

Alanah Thompson French said she applied for a job as a trainee lettings negotiator at haart in Nottingham in December.

From BBC • Mar. 19, 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

Related Words

• apprentice
• cadet
• learner
• pupil