Among the ancient Romans, a novice (novicius) was usually a newly enslaved person, who had to be trained in his or her duties. Among Catholics and Buddhists, if you desire to become a priest, monk, or nun, you must serve as a novice for a period of time, often a year (called your novitiate), before being ordained or fully professing your vows. No matter what kind of novice you are—at computers, at writing, at politics, etc.—you've got a lot to learn.
Novices serve time as scullery serfs as they work toward the privilege of trailing a pastry chef …—Guy Trebay, New York Times, 4 Sept. 2002For the novice, walking the course also means being scared senseless by all the possibilities to screw up.—Tim Keown, ESPN, 17 Sept. 2001Yet it's obvious to him and everyone else who the novice is here, the book-learned tournament virgin.—James McManus, Harper's, December 2000Much defter than one would have thought possible from the length of her fingernails, Toula had no fear of high fast notes; her flair, mounted between Andrea's perfectionist reserve and Alice's novice awkwardness, seemed all too displayed.—John Updike, The Afterlife, 1994
He's a novice in cooking.
a book for the novice chess player
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And while the real thing is a great gift idea for seasoned green thumbs, novice plant owners can still enjoy the look (minus the fussy upkeep) with this faux version that looks surprisingly realistic.—Kristi Kellogg, Architectural Digest, 7 Oct. 2025 As both a novice detective and a woman, Noelle certainly has the cards stacked against her.—Jordan Mintzer, HollywoodReporter, 7 Oct. 2025 The blind spots of breakthrough technologies Like most of his peers, Farley sees AI’s potential for everything from improving warranty processes to training novice technicians to repair complex engines.—Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, semafor.com, 3 Oct. 2025 The novice user will rely on a single, default tool.—Marco Argenti, Time, 2 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for novice
Word History
Etymology
Middle English, borrowed from Anglo-French, "probationer in a religious community" (continental Old French also, "inexperienced person"), borrowed from Late Latin novīcius, going back to Latin, "newly enslaved person, person recently entered into a condition," as adjective, "newly imported, recently discovered, fashionable," from novus "new" + -īcius-itious — more at new entry 1
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