English Reference
Noun

newbie

n.
B2 Upper Intermediate US /ˈnubi/ new·bie

n.a person who is new to a job, activity, or group. It describes someone who is still learning the basics.

n.a person who is new to a particular activity, profession, or social group. Informal in register.


SIMPLE

The office hired a newbie to help with the project.

CONTEXTUAL

As a total newbie to the software, I found the interface confusing at first.

COMPLEX

The online gaming community often provides dedicated servers for newbies to learn the mechanics without facing experienced players.


Coined in 1990s Internet culture, on Usenet and early online forums. It most likely grew out of 'new boy', old school and armed-forces slang for a fresh arrival — US soldiers in Vietnam already called a newcomer a 'newby'. Online gaming carried it into everyday English, along with the clipped forms 'newb' and 'noob'.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Level B2 · Upper Intermediate
Updated