nonprofessional

American  

[non-pruh-fesh-uh-nl] / ˌnɒn prəˈfɛʃ ə nl /

adjective

1. not a member of or trained in a specific profession.

2. Sports. not offering or engaged in for payment or a monetary prize; amateur.

   a nonprofessional league; a nonprofessional player.

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noun

1. a person who is not a professional.

2. an amateur athlete.

nonprofessional British  

/ ˌnɒnprəˈfɛʃənəl /

adjective

1. not of, relating to, suitable for, or engaged in a profession

2. not undertaken or performed for gain or by people who are paid

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Other Word Forms

• nonprofessionalism
  noun

Etymology

Origin of nonprofessional

First recorded in 1795–1805; non- + professional

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

nonprofessional

Many are new to stock-market trading, with a reported record number of trading accounts being opened by nonprofessional investors, including, reportedly, brokerage accounts for children and even babies and for senior citizens.

From MarketWatch ● May 21, 2026

GameStop gained fame during the meme-stock craze of 2021, in which nonprofessional retail traders left idle by pandemic lockdowns bid up the stocks of beleaguered companies.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 2, 2026

That would whack stocks, as nonprofessional investors have reliably bought every dip because they have been conditioned to believe stocks always rise.

From Barron's ● Mar. 11, 2026

As he did for his award-winning prison film, “Michael Inside,” Berry used nonprofessional actors with intimate experience of the system — here, Ireland’s International Protection Office, which processes asylum applications — he wanted to depict.

From New York Times ● May 9, 2024

The subject must have a history of heroism in a nonprofessional capacity.

From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman