probation
/prəˈbeɪʃ(ə)n
/noun [mass noun] Law
1The release of an offender from detention, subject to a period of good behaviour under supervision: I went to court and was put on probation...
- He was given a community service order and put on probation.
- In a four-star hotel in Swindon he was arrested, remanded and released on probation.
- He was tested for alcohol and failed, then was arrested for breaching his probation order.
1.1A process of testing or observing the character or abilities of a person who is new to a role or job: for an initial period of probation your manager will closely monitor your progress...
- One employee was suspended without pay for two weeks and another was put on three-month probation.
- I had a bad semester, being away from home in a new town and with nobody around, and ended up on academic probation.
- There have been no calls for his head as yet by institutional investors but he is regarded, at least by some, as being on probation.
Synonyms
trial period, test period, experimental period, trial;
apprenticeship, traineeship, training, novitiate
Derivatives
probational
- But given that we have had an independent evaluation into probational training, we have had a Metropolitan Police Authority internal audit look at probational training, none of them have put this forward.
Origin
Late Middle English (denoting testing or investigation): from Old French probacion, from Latin probatio(n-), from probare 'to test, prove' (see prove). The legal use dates from the late 19th century.