probie

P3R1O1B3I1E1

noun

Someone holding a position on a probationary basis, subject to performance or examination.

OriginEnglish probationary →
Scrabble 10
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Meanings

nounprobie (plural probies)

plural probies · alternative proby

  1. slangSomeone holding a position on a probationary basis, subject to performance or examination.

    He's no closer to carrying out the suggestion of the 3rd Step than the day the Probie drove him over to his halfway house from Peabody Holding.

    1996, David Foster Wallace, Infinite Jest […], Boston, Mass.; New York, N.Y.: Little, Brown and Company, →ISBN, page 444
  2. slangfirefightingA neophyte firefighter.

    A probie never complains. A probie keeps his mouth shut, his eyes open. A probie is never idle. A probie is always learning or drilling or cleaning. That's why you're still called a probie: for one year after you leave training school.

    1997. Steve Delson. "The Fire Inside: Firefighters Talk About Their Lives", Page 41

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
beginner

Origin

  1. Englishprobation
  2. Englishprobationary
  3. Englishprobie

From probationary + -ie.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

probie. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/probie

MLA

“probie.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/probie. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “probie,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/probie.

Source: probie on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.