A greenhorn is a brand new hire who lacks practical experience and still needs constant supervision. The term implies that the worker is untrained and likely to make basic mistakes, requiring veterans to show them the ropes. It is used across trades to describe apprentices or raw recruits before they learn the unwritten rules of the shop floor.
Heard on the job
Keep an eye on the greenhorn before he wires that panel backwards.
Insider tip
A greenhorn is expected to ask questions and do the heavy lifting while they learn the trade.
Also heard as
- greenie
- rookie
- newbie