noob

What it means

A beginner or newcomer, especially in gaming, who lacks skill or experience. It can be neutral or a mild insult depending on tone, often aimed at someone making rookie mistakes.

Examples

• I'm a total noob at this game, go easy on me.
• Stop camping, you absolute noob.
• Every pro was a noob once.
• He rage-quit after getting called a noob.

Where it comes from

A respelling of 'newbie,' it emerged in online gaming and forum culture in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The variant 'n00b' with zeros became a classic internet taunt.

Related slang