Definition of journeyman
1 : a worker who has learned a trade and works for another person usually by the day
2 : an experienced reliable worker, athlete, or performer especially as distinguished from one who is brilliant or colorful a good journeyman trumpeter — New Yorker a journeyman outfielder
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Recent Examples of journeyman from the Web
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The 6-foot-7 26-year-old journeyman is entering his second season in Brooklyn, his fifth NBA team in his five-year career.
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His career formed the origin for Sylvester Stallone's Rocky: a journeyman bum with a good jaw for blows suddenly given the opportunity to fight the world champion.
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Last year’s maneuvers also included trading Marco Belinelli for the rights to another rookie, Malachi Richardson (No. 22), and plugging in a handful of journeymen to fill out the roster.
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The prolific journeyman artist, known for having released dozens of mixtapes over his career, scored his first No.
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Chris Hatcher gave up a three-run homer to 31-year-old journeyman Daniel Robertson.
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Boston won it in the 11th on a run-scoring single by Dustin Pedroia with journeyman Casey Fien pitching in his third inning.
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In: a backup goalkeeper who didn’t play last season and a journeyman winger who has two career Liga MX goals.
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That turned out to be the first step toward Ramirez going from a journeyman reliever with only fleeting success, to a dependable member of the Angels’ bullpen.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'journeyman.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Did You Know?
The journey in journeyman refers to a sense of the familiar word not often used anymore: "a day's labor." This sense of journey was first used in the 14th century. When journeyman appeared the following century, it originally referred to a person who, having learned a handicraft or trade through an apprenticeship, worked for daily wages. In the 16th century, journeyman picked up a figurative (and mainly deprecatory) sense; namely, "one who drudges for another." These days, however, journeyman has little to do with drudgery, and lots to do with knowing a trade inside out.
Origin and Etymology of journeyman
Middle English, from journey journey, a day's labor + man
JOURNEYMAN Defined for English Language Learners
journeyman
playDefinition of journeyman for English Language Learners
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: a worker who learns a skill and then works for another person
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: a worker, performer, or athlete who is experienced and good but not excellent
JOURNEYMAN Defined for Kids
journeyman
playDefinition of journeyman for Students
journeymen
\-mən\: a worker who has learned a trade and usually works for another person by the day
Learn More about journeyman
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Spanish Central: Translation of journeyman Nglish: Translation of journeyman for Spanish speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about journeyman
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