greenhorn
Americannoun
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an untrained or inexperienced person.
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a naive or gullible person; someone who is easily tricked or swindled.
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Slang. a newly arrived immigrant; newcomer.
noun
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an inexperienced person, esp one who is extremely gullible
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a newcomer or immigrant
Other Word Forms
- greenhornism noun
Etymology
Origin of greenhorn
1425–75; late Middle English; green, horn; originally applied to cattle with green (i.e., young) horns
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
She spoke of that hard line in sports, the one between being a 21-year-old greenhorn flitting around all carefree without the expectations and a 26-year-old veteran flying around with the expectations.
From Washington Post • Jul. 28, 2021
I was listening to them talk of quality and seasonability when the young perfumer, with all the indelicacy of a greenhorn, announced, “I have some oudh.”
From New York Times • May 10, 2021
Wily bank robber Wesley Snipes taunts a familiar-looking rough-and-ready cop while greenhorn Ryan Phillippe delivers a TED talk on chaos theory in this listless would-be thriller.
From The Guardian • Jul. 25, 2019
Instead, it was McIlroy that looked like the greenhorn.
From Golf Digest • May 5, 2019
"I don't have an extra pen," I whispered, complete sentences for whispers, that's what tells you I was still a greenhorn in this culture.
From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
