Meaning & use

rookie

noun·Everyday

A person who is new to a job, sport, or activity and still lacks experience.

See it in a sentence

The rookie fumbled the ball twice before settling into his first professional game.

As a rookie officer, she relied heavily on advice from more experienced colleagues.

A note on using this word

Rookie is common in sports and workplace contexts and can also function as an adjective, as in 'rookie mistake.'

Words with a similar meaning

novicenewcomerbeginner

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Words with an opposite meaning

Another way to use it

2. adjective

Relating to or typical of someone new and inexperienced.

He made a rookie mistake by forgetting to save his work before the computer crashed.

Make it your own

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