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Antonyms for rookie

Grammar : Noun
Spell : roo k-ee
Phonetic Transcription : ˈrʊk i

Definition of rookie

Origin :
  • "raw recruit," 1892 in that spelling, popularized by Kipling's "Barrack-Room Ballads," of uncertain origin, perhaps from recruit, influenced by rook (n.1) in its secondary sense, suggesting "easy to cheat." Barrère ["A Dictionary of Slang, Jargon & Cant," 1890] has "Rookey (army), a recruit; from the black coat some of them wear," so perhaps directly from rook (n.1). Came into general use in American English during the Spanish-American War.
  • The rapid growth of a word from a single seed transplanted in a congenial soil is one of the curiosities of literature. Take a single instance. A few weeks ago there was not one American soldier in a thousand who knew there was such a word as "rookey." To-day there are few soldiers and ex-soldiers who have not substituted it for "raw recruit." ["The Midland Monthly," December 1898]
  • noun novice
Example sentences :
  • And he wasn't forgetting Keesey, the rookie who'd replaced him.
  • Extract from : « The Hoofer » by Walter M. Miller
  • "Rookie" is the term by which a new recruit is designated in Army slang.
  • Extract from : « Uncle Sam's Boys in the Ranks » by H. Irving Hancock
  • Is it allowable, Sergeant, for a rookie to ask what this is all about?
  • Extract from : « Uncle Sam's Boys in the Ranks » by H. Irving Hancock
  • Yet I am convinced that what will best control the Plattsburg rookie is the Plattsburg non-com.
  • Extract from : « At Plattsburg » by Allen French
  • Then he was just a busher, a rookie, a nobody who had his reputation yet to win.
  • Extract from : « Baseball Joe on the Giants » by Lester Chadwick
  • A Reservist is a dug-out, a recruit a rookie, and a veteran an old sweat.
  • Extract from : « Anecdotes of the Great War » by Carleton Britton Case
  • No, admitted the rookie reluctantly, yo nevah tol me nuthin.
  • Extract from : « Funny Stories Told By The Soldiers » by Carleton B. Case
  • You already are onethat is you are a 44 rookie, which is practically the same thing.
  • Extract from : « The Battleship Boys at Sea » by Frank Gee Patchin
  • "Yes, Rookie darling," she said, in a tone of drowsy happiness.
  • Extract from : « Old Crow » by Alice Brown
  • Rookie was sensitive to see, and she found her hand steady to hold the torch.
  • Extract from : « Old Crow » by Alice Brown

Synonyms for rookie

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019