rookie
To be a rookie; to go through one's inexperienced learning period in a job, team, or…To be a rookie; to go through one's inexperienced learning period in a job, team, or organization.
Recorded UK: Speaker: Vealhurl Recorder: Vealhurl, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
Meaning
2 senses(intransitive)To be a rookie; to go through one's inexperienced learning period in a job, team, or organization.
(transitive)To haze one or more rookies as an initiation ritual.
Origin
Thought to be an alteration of recruit + -ie, or from rook (“a cheat”) + -ie. Another possThought to be an alteration of recruit + -ie, or from rook (“a cheat”) + -ie. Another possible origin is Dutch broekie (short for broekvent (“a boy still in short trousers”)), a common term for a shipmate. Also suggested is Irish rúca (“an inexperienced person”).
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
rookies, rookying, rookied, rookiedTenses
rookie · rookied · will rookie · have rookiedWord family
2 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.