AMATEUR

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does amateur mean? 

• AMATEUR (noun)
  The noun AMATEUR has 2 senses:

1. someone who pursues a study or sport as a pastime

2. an athlete who does not play for pay

  Familiarity information: AMATEUR used as a noun is rare.

• AMATEUR (adjective)
  The adjective AMATEUR has 2 senses:

1. engaged in as a pastime

2. lacking professional skill or expertise

  Familiarity information: AMATEUR used as an adjective is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• AMATEUR (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Someone who pursues a study or sport as a pastime

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Hypernyms ("amateur" is a kind of...):

individual; mortal; person; somebody; someone; soul (a human being)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "amateur"):

bird watcher; birder (a person who identifies and studies birds in their natural habitats)

dabbler; dilettante; sciolist (an amateur who engages in an activity without serious intentions and who pretends to have knowledge)

hobbyist (a person who pursues an activity in their spare time for pleasure)

Derivation:

amateur (engaged in as a pastime)

Sense 2

Meaning:

An athlete who does not play for pay

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Hypernyms ("amateur" is a kind of...):

athlete; jock (a person trained to compete in sports)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "amateur"):

outdoor man; sporting man (someone who enjoys outdoor activities)

Antonym:

professional (an athlete who plays for pay)

Derivation:

amateur (engaged in as a pastime)

amateur (lacking professional skill or expertise)

• AMATEUR (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Engaged in as a pastime

Synonyms:

amateur; recreational; unpaid

Context example:

unpaid extras in the documentary

Similar:

nonprofessional (not professional; not engaged in a profession or engaging in as a profession or for gain)

Derivation:

amateur (someone who pursues a study or sport as a pastime)

amateur (an athlete who does not play for pay)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Lacking professional skill or expertise

Synonyms:

amateur; amateurish; inexpert; unskilled

Context example:

an unskilled painting

Similar:

unprofessional (not characteristic of or befitting a profession or one engaged in a profession)

Derivation:

amateur (an athlete who does not play for pay)

 Context examples 

Beginning in 2012, amateur observations revealed a noticeable increase in the rate at which the spot is shrinking — by 580 miles per year — changing its shape from an oval to a circle.

(Jupiter's great red spot is shrinking, NASA)

However, amateur astronomers with small telescopes might glimpse the fast-moving appearance of this near-Earth asteroid.

(Small Asteroid to Safely Pass Close to Earth Sunday, NASA)

Mr. Rochester is an amateur of the decided and eccentric: Grace is eccentric at least.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

He is an amateur of crime, as I am of disease.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Cramer, of the Opera, said only the other day that he had rather hand his bâton to me than to any amateur in England.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The asteroid is expected to be observable to amateur astronomers with small telescopes and strong binoculars.

(Asteroid to Fly By Earth on January 26, NASA)

Near the edge of the polar storm is a large, compact methane-ice cloud, which is sometimes bright enough to be photographed by amateur astronomers.

(Hubble Reveals Dynamic Atmospheres of Uranus, Neptune, NASA)

My ramifications stretch out into many sections of society, but never, I am happy to say, into amateur sport, which is the best and soundest thing in England.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

It was only by trying begging as an amateur that I could get the facts upon which to base my articles.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Godalming is an amateur fitter himself, and evidently it was he who put the launch in trim again.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)