Beginner
//bɪˈɡɪnə// noun
noun ·Moderate ·High school level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Someone who is just starting at something, or has only recently started.
"I'm new to learning Finnish: I'm just a beginner."
- 2 a person who founds or establishes some institution wordnet
- 3 Someone who sets something in motion.
"The beginner of the games lit the ceremonial torch."
- 4 someone new to a field or activity wordnet
- 5 An actor who is present on stage in the first moments of a play.
"On the stage, the beginners for the first piece had taken their places — the chorus were there, scared but determined, and in the wings waited Harlequin, in the person of Charles Lyall […]"
Example
More examples"Beside you, I'm only a beginner at this game."
Etymology
From Middle English begynner, equivalent to begin + -er. Cognate with West Frisian begjinner (“beginner”), Dutch beginner (“beginner”), Low German begünner (“beginner”), Danish nybegynder (“beginner, novice”, literally “new-beginner”).
Related phrases
More for "beginner"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.