amateur

American  

[am-uh-choor, -cher, -ter, am-uh-tur] / ˈæm əˌtʃʊər, -tʃər, -tər, ˌæm əˈtɜr /

noun

1. a person who engages in a study, sport, or other activity for pleasure rather than for financial benefit or professional reasons.

2. an athlete who has never competed for payment or for a monetary prize.

   Synonyms:

   nonprofessional

3. a person inexperienced or unskilled in a particular activity.

   Hunting lions is not for amateurs.

   Synonyms:

   novice, tyro, dilettante

4. a person who admires something; devotee; fan.

   an amateur of the cinema.

---

adjective

1. characteristic of or engaged in by an amateur; nonprofessional.

   an amateur painter; amateur tennis.

amateur British  

/ -tʃə, ˌæməˈtɜː, ˈæmətə, -ˌtjʊə /

noun

1. a person who engages in an activity, esp a sport, as a pastime rather than professionally or for gain

2. an athlete or sportsman

3. a person unskilled in or having only a superficial knowledge of a subject or activity

4. a person who is fond of or admires something

5. (modifier) consisting of or for amateurs

   an amateur event

---

adjective

1. amateurish; not professional or expert

   an amateur approach

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• amateurism
  noun
• proamateur
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of amateur

1775–85; < French, Middle French < Latin amātor lover, equivalent to amā- (stem of amāre to love) + -tor -tor, replaced by French -teur (< Latin -tōr-, oblique stem of -tor ); see -eur

Explanation

An amateur is a person who does something for enjoyment, not money, like an amateur who paints as a hobby but earns a living another way. The adjective amateur often describes a pastime, like an amateur sports league that people join to get exercise and socialize together. Or it can have a negative meaning and describe something that's poorly done. If your guests leave your dinner table and stop for fast food on the way home, you may be ashamed of your amateur cooking skills. Amateur originated as a French word, meaning "lover of," not "expert."

Example Sentences

And he only had four years of Nippon Professional Baseball experience before deciding to leave Japan, posting early and signing as an international amateur free agent last year, as Shohei Ohtani did in 2017.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 5, 2026

There’s a reason Musk bought Twitter, a reason Pratt talks the way he does about statistics, and a reason amateur creators blow so much money on their A.I. bills.

From Slate • Jun. 3, 2026

Shady Bets: Online sleuthing helped catch the “Google insider” on Polymarket after amateur observers spotted suspicious trades on the crypto-based betting platform.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 31, 2026

According to the Farmers Weekly magazine, Kinston was a "talented amateur inventor".

From BBC • May 27, 2026

In short, he was a kind fool who had no sense that he was walking into the standoff of two amateur armies.

From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri