Meaning & use
apprentice
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A person who learns a trade by working for a skilled worker, usually for an agreed number of years.
Grammar: Often followed by a trade or to: an apprentice electrician; apprentice to a baker.
Patterns
- an apprentice to someone
- an apprentice in something
He started as an apprentice at a local garage.
The bakery takes on two apprentices each year.
She was apprenticed to a master carpenter.
nouncountablefigurative
A beginner who is still learning the basic skills of an activity.
Grammar: Used figuratively for any learner, often with a title: the sorcerer's apprentice.
Patterns
- an apprentice to someone
The young chef was an eager apprentice in the busy kitchen.
He felt like an apprentice among the experienced pilots.
The magician's apprentice dropped the cards.
verbtransitiveformal
To place someone with a skilled worker so that they can learn a trade.
Grammar: Usually passive: he was apprenticed to a tailor.
Patterns
- apprentice someone to someone
- be apprenticed to someone
His parents apprenticed him to a shoemaker.
She was apprenticed to a silversmith at fourteen.
Many boys were apprenticed in the village.
Word forms
| plural | apprentices |
|---|---|
| third person singular | apprentices |
| past tense | apprenticed |
| past participle | apprenticed |
| -ing form | apprenticing |
Common combinations
- serve an apprenticeship
- He served a five-year apprenticeship as a plumber.
- apprentice electrician
- The apprentice electrician carried the tools.
- take on an apprentice
- The workshop agreed to take on an apprentice.
- apprentice chef
- An apprentice chef learns by watching.
- apprentice to a master
- He became an apprentice to a master potter.
Synonyms and how they differ
- trainee
- Trainee is a broader word for anyone in training, while apprentice suggests a formal, long-term learning of a trade.
- intern
- Intern usually refers to a short, often office-based placement, whereas an apprentice works for years and often earns a qualification.
- novice
- Novice describes someone new to an activity but does not imply being taught by a master.
- learner
- Learner is a general word for anyone who is studying, while an apprentice learns by working.
Opposites
Word family
- apprenticeship noun
- the period or system of working as an apprentice
- apprenticed adjective
- placed with a skilled worker to learn
Commonly confused: apprentice or apprehend?
apprentice vs apprehend
Apprehend means to arrest someone or to understand something, and it has nothing to do with learning a trade.
Practice
What does an apprentice usually do?
Choose one answer.
An apprentice learns by working alongside a skilled person. The person teaching is the master, not the apprentice.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “apprentice”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.