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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.
Examples of novice in a Sentence
Novices serve time as scullery serfs as they work toward the privilege of trailing a pastry chef …
—
Guy Trebay, New York Times, 4 Sept. 2002
For the novice, walking the course also means being scared senseless by all the possibilities to screw up.
—Tim Keown, ESPN, 17 Sept. 2001
Yet it's obvious to him and everyone else who the novice is here, the book-learned tournament virgin.
—James McManus, Harper's, December 2000
Much 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
Guy Trebay, New York Times, 4 Sept. 2002
For the novice, walking the course also means being scared senseless by all the possibilities to screw up.
—Tim Keown, ESPN, 17 Sept. 2001
Yet it's obvious to him and everyone else who the novice is here, the book-learned tournament virgin.
—James McManus, Harper's, December 2000
Much 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
Recent Examples on the Web
For seasoned cooks and kitchen novices, cookbook author and nutritionist Robin Miller takes it back to basics with great, family-friendly recipes worth making over and over again.
—Robin Miller, AZCentral.com, 25 July 2025
These tools power cybercrime, automating sophisticated attacks and enabling novices to deploy phishing, malware or social engineering campaigns with ease.
—Skip Sanzeri, Forbes.com, 23 July 2025
When younger employees see senior leaders not just as figures of authority but as people with stories and experience, and when older professionals view younger colleagues as passionate learners instead of impatient novices, collaboration becomes natural.
—Nia Bowers, USA Today, 22 July 2025
Users report setup times under 10 minutes, with the app guiding novices through the process.
—Damian Peach, Space.com, 17 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for novice
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Robin Miller, AZCentral.com, 25 July 2025
These tools power cybercrime, automating sophisticated attacks and enabling novices to deploy phishing, malware or social engineering campaigns with ease.
—Skip Sanzeri, Forbes.com, 23 July 2025
When younger employees see senior leaders not just as figures of authority but as people with stories and experience, and when older professionals view younger colleagues as passionate learners instead of impatient novices, collaboration becomes natural.
—Nia Bowers, USA Today, 22 July 2025
Users report setup times under 10 minutes, with the app guiding novices through the process.
—Damian Peach, Space.com, 17 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for novice
Cite this Entry
“Novice.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/novice. Accessed 7 Aug. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
novice
noun
nov·ice
ˈnäv-əs 
1
: a new member of a religious order who is preparing to take the vows of religion
2
: a person who has no previous experience with something
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