Meaning & use
a journeyman
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Meanings
nouncountableold-fashioned
A worker who has completed an apprenticeship in a trade and works for someone else, but is not yet a master.
Grammar: Countable: a journeyman, several journeymen. The plural is irregular: journeymen.
Patterns
- a journeyman carpenter
- work as a journeyman
In the past, a journeyman traveled from town to town to find work.
He finished his apprenticeship and became a journeyman plumber.
The guild had masters, journeymen, and apprentices.
nouncountablefigurative
A player or performer who is reliable and experienced but not a star.
Grammar: Countable and often used before another noun: a journeyman player.
Patterns
- a journeyman player
- a journeyman boxer
After ten years, he was still a journeyman in the minor leagues.
The team signed a journeyman goalkeeper as backup.
She built a solid career as a journeyman musician.
Word forms
| plural | journeymen |
|---|
Common combinations
- a journeyman electrician
- A journeyman electrician can work independently but is not yet a master.
- journeyman years
- In some trades, journeyman years are spent gaining experience.
- a journeyman career
- He had a journeyman career, playing for many clubs.
Synonyms and how they differ
- tradesman
- A general word for a skilled worker; it does not show the stage of training that journeyman does.
- apprentice
- An apprentice is still learning and has not yet become a journeyman.
Opposites
Word family
- journey noun
- A trip from one place to another.
- journeyman adjective
- Used before a noun to describe a steady but not star performer.
Commonly confused: a journeyman or journey?
a journeyman vs journey
A journey is a trip; a journeyman is a worker or player. They sound similar but mean very different things.
Practice
What is the plural of 'journeyman'?
Choose one answer.
The plural is 'journeymen', like 'men'. The other forms are not standard English.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “a journeyman”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.