amateur
a person who engages in a study, sport, or other activity for pleasure rather than for financial benefit or professional reasons.: Compare professional.
an athlete who has never competed for payment or for a monetary prize.
a person inexperienced or unskilled in a particular activity: Hunting lions is not for amateurs.
a person who admires something; devotee; fan: an amateur of the cinema.
characteristic of or engaged in by an amateur; nonprofessional: an amateur painter; amateur tennis.
Origin of amateur
1Other words for amateur
Other words from amateur
- pro·am·a·teur, adjective
Words that may be confused with amateur
- amateur , armature
Words Nearby amateur
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use amateur in a sentence
In April Christina Massey, a Brooklyn-based artist, created Artists for the USPS, an Instagram-driven group that connected amateur and professional artists in pairs, all as part of a move to help support the service.
Letter-writing staved off lockdown loneliness. Now it’s getting out the vote. | Tanya Basu | September 18, 2020 | MIT Technology ReviewObviously, given that these are informal cookbooks full of recipes written by amateur chefs, not everything works.
The Joy of Cooking Other People’s ‘Secret Family Recipes’ | Amy McCarthy | September 11, 2020 | EaterAlex Hill, a Brooklyn-based amateur chef, is bringing people together through social media.
The technical barriers could prevent millions of amateur investors losing their shirts, which is what happened when the 2017 bubble popped.
These amateurs who think they’re experts don’t stand a chance, but do stand a chance of really getting sucked in.
The Economics of Sports Gambling (Ep. 388 Rebroadcast) | Stephen J. Dubner | August 20, 2020 | Freakonomics
Launched late last week, Ready for Romney appears to be, at best, political amateur hour.
Can you imagine Superman being handed over to a writer just a notch above amateur?
Thankfully, the Coleman kids reached a Burger King, and Wahlberg and his amateur biker gang rode off.
Mark Wahlberg’s Pardon Plea: A Look Back At His Troubling, Violent, and Racist Rap Sheet | Marlow Stern | December 7, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTSharp did lots of school plays, which led to a role in amateur operetta, then professional pantomime.
Today, though, professional and amateur historians can build counter-narratives that are hard to dismantle.
To assist the amateur and collector in this pursuit is the object of the present little work.
Violins and Violin Makers | Joseph PearceA Cremona Violin is, to a rich amateur, a loadstone that is sure to attract the shining metal from the depths of his purse.
Violins and Violin Makers | Joseph PearceThe tone is with few exceptions sweet in quality and seldom powerful, but admirably suited to the amateur.
Violins and Violin Makers | Joseph PearceThe Dictionary we have compiled will tell the amateur what names will most probably supply the qualities he desires.
Violins and Violin Makers | Joseph PearceIn considering the first point, power, the amateur will have to beware of a very possible mistake he may fall into.
Violins and Violin Makers | Joseph Pearce
British Dictionary definitions for amateur
/ (ˈæmətə, -tʃə, -ˌtjʊə, ˌæməˈtɜː) /
a person who engages in an activity, esp a sport, as a pastime rather than professionally or for gain
an athlete or sportsman
a person unskilled in or having only a superficial knowledge of a subject or activity
a person who is fond of or admires something
(modifier) consisting of or for amateurs: an amateur event
amateurish; not professional or expert: an amateur approach
Origin of amateur
1Derived forms of amateur
- amateurism, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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