# rookie

Pronunciation: US say "RUU-kee" /ˈɹʊki/; UK

## Noun

1. A beginner who has little or no experience at an activity.
   - Simple: Someone who is new to an activity and has little experience yet.
   - _The rookie misjudged the task but improved quickly with practice._
   - _Most rookies need a few weeks to settle into the work._
2. An athlete new to a sport or team, or in his or her first year of professional competition, especially in baseball, basketball, hockey, and American football.
   - Simple: A sports player who is new to a sport or team, or in their first year as a professional.
   - _The rookie struggled early in the season but earned a starting spot by the playoffs._
   - _Several rookies made the final roster after a strong training camp._
3. A newly recruited member, especially of the police or the military, who still lacks experience.
   - Simple: A new member of the police or military who has little experience yet.
   - _The rookie hesitated before reaching for her radio during the drill._
   - _Veteran officers keep a close eye on rookies during their first night shift._
7. A type of firecracker whose bang is used on farms to frighten rooks away. *(British)*
   - Simple: A firework that farmers set off to scare rooks away from their fields.
   - _Each morning the farmer lit a rookie to drive the rooks off the seedbeds._
   - _The bang of a rookie carried across the fields._

## Adjective

4. Non-professional; carried out by amateurs rather than experts.
   - Simple: Done by amateurs rather than trained professionals.
   - _The film had a charming, rookie quality that critics found refreshing._
   - _Their rookie production lacked polish but showed real promise._

## Verb

5. To be a beginner in a job, team, or organization, going through the early period of learning.
   - Simple: To spend your first, inexperienced stretch learning a job, team, or sport.
   - _New hires usually rookie for several months before taking on full duties._
   - _He rookied quietly, learning the ropes without complaint._
6. To haze one or more new recruits as an initiation ritual.
   - Simple: To play pranks on new members as part of a joining ritual.
   - _Veterans rookie the newcomers with a string of pranks before the first game._
   - _The squad rookied their freshmen during the preseason retreat._

## Origin

Thought to be an alteration of "recruit" + "-ie," or from "rook" ("a cheat") + "-ie." Other possible origins include Dutch broekie (from broekvent, "a boy still in short trousers"), a common term for a shipmate, or Irish rúca ("an inexperienced person").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/rookie (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).