professional
[pruh-fesh-uh-nl]
- following an occupation as a means of livelihood or for gain: a professional builder.
- of, relating to, or connected with a profession: professional studies.
- appropriate to a profession: professional objectivity.
- engaged in one of the learned professions: A lawyer is a professional person.
- following as a business an occupation ordinarily engaged in as a pastime: a professional golfer.
- making a business or constant practice of something not properly to be regarded as a business: “A salesman,” he said, “is a professional optimist.”
- undertaken or engaged in as a means of livelihood or for gain: professional baseball.
- of or for a professional person or his or her place of business or work: a professional apartment; professional equipment.
- done by a professional; expert: professional car repairs.
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- a person who belongs to one of the professions, especially one of the learned professions.
- a person who earns a living in a sport or other occupation frequently engaged in by amateurs: a golf professional.
- an expert player, as of golf or tennis, serving as a teacher, consultant, performer, or contestant; pro.
- a person who is expert at his or her work: You can tell by her comments that this editor is a real professional.
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Origin of professional
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
professional
- of, relating to, suitable for, or engaged in as a profession
- engaging in an activity for gain or as a means of livelihood
- extremely competent in a job, etc
- (of a piece of work or anything performed) produced with competence or skill
- undertaken or performed for gain or by people who are paid
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- a person who belongs to or engages in one of the professions
- a person who engages for his livelihood in some activity also pursued by amateurs
- a person who engages in an activity with great competence
- an expert player of a game who gives instruction, esp to members of a club by whom he is hired
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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
Word Origin and History for interprofessional
professional
adj.
early 15c., of religious orders; 1747 of careers (especially of the skilled or learned trades from c.1793); see profession. In sports, opposed to amateur, from 1846. Related: Professionally.
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professional
n.
"one who does it for a living," 1798, from professional (adj.).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper