Meaning & use
novice
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Meanings
nouncountable
A person who is new to a skill, job, sport, or field and has little or no experience in it.
Grammar: Takes a plural, novices; often followed by 'at': a novice at cooking.
Patterns
- a novice at something
- a complete novice
- novice user
As a novice at sailing, I stayed on the calmest part of the lake.
The software is designed so that even a novice can use it easily.
nouncountablereligion
A person who has recently entered a religious order and is preparing to take final vows.
Grammar: Specific religious sense; plural novices; often 'a novice at' or 'in' a named order.
Patterns
- a novice in an order
- a novice nun
- a novice monk
The novice spent a year in prayer and study before taking her vows.
He joined the monastery as a novice at the age of nineteen.
Word forms
| plural | novices |
|---|
Common combinations
- a complete novice
- I was a complete novice at public speaking when I joined the club.
- novice user
- The tutorial explains every step for the novice user.
- novice driver
- Novice drivers pay higher insurance rates in their first year.
- a novice at something
- He is still a novice at chess and loses most games.
Synonyms and how they differ
- beginner
- Beginner is the everyday word; novice sounds slightly more formal and is common in job and hobby contexts.
- newcomer
- Newcomer stresses being new to a place or group, not necessarily lacking a skill.
- apprentice
- An apprentice is a beginner who is formally learning a trade, usually under a contract.
Opposites
Word family
- novitiate noun
- The period of being a religious novice, or the place where novices live.
Practice
As a ___ to skiing, he booked lessons on the gentlest slopes.
Choose one answer.
A novice is a beginner with little experience, which matches needing lessons on easy slopes. Master, veteran, and champion all describe highly experienced people.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “novice”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.