am·a·teur

(ăm′ə-tûr′, -tər, -cho͝or′, -chər, -tyo͝or′)

1. One who engages in an art, science, study, or athletic activity as a pastime rather than as a profession.

2. Sports An athlete who has never accepted money, or who accepts money under restrictions specified by a regulatory body, for participating in a competition.

3. One lacking the skill of a professional, as in an art.

adj.

1. Of or performed by an amateur.

2. Made up of amateurs: an amateur cast.

3. Not professional; unskillful.

[French, from Latin amātor, lover, from amāre, to love.]

am′a·teur·ism n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

amateur

(ˈæmətə; -tʃə; -ˌtjʊə; ˌæməˈtɜː)

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

2. (General Sporting Terms) 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.

adj

amateurish; not professional or expert: an amateur approach.

[C18: from French, from Latin amātor lover, from amāre to love]

ˈamateurism n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

am•a•teur

(ˈæm əˌtʃʊər, -tʃər, -tər, ˌæm əˈtɜr)

n.

1. a person who engages in a study, sport, or other activity for pleasure rather than for financial benefit. Compare professional (def. 11).

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

3. a person inexperienced or unskilled in a particular activity: Detective work is not for amateurs.

4. a lover or devotee of an art, science, etc.

adj.

5. pertaining to, characteristic of, or engaged in by an amateur: amateur tennis.

6. composed of amateurs.

7. being an amateur: an amateur painter.

[1775–85; < French, Middle French < Latin amātor lover =amā(re) to love + -tor -tor]

am′a•teur•ism, n.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	amateur - someone who pursues a study or sport as a pastime individual, mortal, person, somebody, someone, soul - a human being; "there was too much for one person to do" birder, bird watcher - 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
	2.	amateur - an athlete who does not play for pay athlete, jock - a person trained to compete in sports outdoor man, sporting man - someone who enjoys outdoor activities pro, professional - an athlete who plays for pay
Adj.	1.	amateur - engaged in as a pastime; "an amateur painter"; "gained valuable experience in amateur theatricals"; "recreational golfers"; "reading matter that is both recreational and mentally stimulating"; "unpaid extras in the documentary" recreational, unpaid nonprofessional - not professional; not engaged in a profession or engaging in as a profession or for gain; "the nonprofessional wives of his male colleagues"; "nonprofessional actors"
	2.	amateur - lacking professional skill or expertise; "a very amateurish job"; "inexpert but conscientious efforts"; "an unskilled painting" amateurish, inexpert, unskilled unprofessional - not characteristic of or befitting a profession or one engaged in a profession; "described in unprofessional language so that high school students could understand it"; "was censured for unprofessional conduct"; "unprofessional repairs"

amateur

noun

1. nonprofessional, outsider, layman, dilettante, layperson, non-specialist, dabbler He is an amateur who dances because he feels like it.

adjective

1. nonprofessional, lay, dilettante an amateur dramatics society

2. incompetent, unable, cowboy (informal), useless, incapable, insufficient, floundering, bungling, unfit, unfitted, inept, ineffectual, incapacitated, inexpert, skill-less, unskilful They gave a performance which easily capped our amateur efforts.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

amateur

noun

One lacking professional skill and ease in a particular pursuit:

dabbler, dilettante, nonprofessional, smatterer, uninitiate.

Translations

الهَاوِيهَاوٍهَاوِهِوَايَة

amatéramatérskýneprofesionál

amatør

Amateur Amateur...Amateurin Dilettant

ερασιτέχνης

aficionado amateur diletante

amatööriamatöörimäinen

amateur

amater

amatõramatőrműkedvelő

áhuga-áhugamaîur

dilettante amante

アマチュア

아마추어

diletantiškasmėgėjasmėgėjiškas

amatierisamatieru-

amatéramatérsky

amaterljubitelj

amatör

มือสมัครเล่น

amatör

người nghiệp dư

业余爱好者业余的业余活动者

amateur

[ˈæmətəʳ]

A. N

1. (lit) (= non-professional) → amateur mf; (= hobbyist) → aficionado/a m/f
he boxed first as an amateur then as a professional → boxeó primero como amateur y después como profesional
an enthusiastic amateur → un amateur entusiasta
I love gardening but I'm just an amateur → me encanta la jardinería, pero no soy más que un aficionado

2. (pej) → chapucero/a m/f
those guys are amateurs! → ¡esos tipos son unos chapuceros!

B. ADJ

1. (= not professional) [athlete, actor, production] → amateur; [club, competition] → para amateurs, para aficionados
amateur athletics/photography → atletismo/fotografía para amateurs
an amateur photographer → un aficionado a la fotografía → un fotógrafo aficionado
an amateur detective → un detective aficionado
I have an amateur interest in pottery → me interesa la cerámica como aficionado
amateur status → condición f de amateur

2. (pej) [production, performance] → de aficionados, chapucero
it was a very amateur performance → fue una actuación de aficionados or muy chapucera

C. CPD amateur dramatics NSING → teatro m amateur, teatro m de aficionados

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

amateur

[ˈæmətə^r]

(= non-professional) → amateur m

(pejorative) (unskilled, amateurish) → amateur m
He's such an amateur! → C'est un amateur!

adj

(= non-professional) [sportsperson, musician, photographer] → amateur inv; [sport, rowing, athletics] → amateur inv; [video] → amateur inv

(pejorative) (= unskilled, amateurish) → amateur invamateur dramatics

n → théâtre m amateur

modif [club, group, class] → de théâtre

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

amateur

→ Amateur(in) m(f)

(pej) → Dilettant(in) m(f)

adj

attr → Amateur-; amateur boxing/competition → Amateurboxen nt → /-wettkampf m; amateur gardener → Hobbygärtner(in) m(f); amateur painter → Hobbymaler(in) m(f); amateur photographer → Hobby- or Amateurfotograf(in) m(f); amateur video → Amateurvideo nt

(pej) = amateurish

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

amateur

[ˈæmətəʳ]

1. n → dilettante m/f

2. adj (player, painter) → dilettante; (activity) → dilettantistico/a, per dilettanti
amateur dramatics → filodrammatica

amateur

(ˈӕmətə) , ((American) -tʃər) noun

1. a person who takes part in a sport etc without being paid for it. The tennis tournament was open only to amateurs.

2. someone who does something for the love of it and not for money. For an amateur, he was quite a good photographer.

adjective

an amateur golfer; amateur photography.

ˌamaˈteurish (-ˈtəː-) adjective

not very skilful. an amateurish drawing.

amateur

→ هَاوٍ amatér amatør Amateur ερασιτέχνης aficionado amatööri amateur amater dilettante アマチュア 아마추어 amateur amatør amator amador любитель amatör มือสมัครเล่น amatör người nghiệp dư 业余爱好者

amateur

a. aficionado-a; principiante.

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

The thing for you is to do Amateur Night at the Loops."

View in context

By the aid of cunning architects he had first blasted his harbour into shape, then built his hotels and pleasure-palaces, and then leased them to dependants of his who knew the right sort of people, and who knew that it was as much as their lease was worth to find accommodation for teetotal amateur photographers or wistful wandering Sunday-school treats.

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And then he signed and dated the letter with an amateur's pride, and looked to be famous by the morrow.

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Silky, who was present, en amateur; but the matter could not be helped, as these were customers who acted and thought for themselves, and all the oily persuasion of shop-eloquence could not influence them.

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Big Alec's black head and swarthy face popped up within arm's reach; and all unsuspecting and very angry with what he took to be the clumsiness of amateur sailors, he was hauled aboard.

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He could have been whatever he turned his agile intellect and his cunning hand to; he had been a schoolmaster and a watch-maker, and I believe an amateur doctor and irregular lawyer; he talked and wrote brilliantly, and he was one of the group that nightly disposed of every manner of theoretical and practical question at the drug-store; it was quite indifferent to him which side he took; what he enjoyed was the mental exercise.

View in context

The twins had accepted several invitations while the reception was in progress, and had also volunteered to play some duets at an amateur entertainment for the benefit of a local charity.

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She has in her possession the card of an actor by profession, who superintended an amateur theatrical performance at Clifton, in which she took part; and to him she has gone to help her.

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The old neglected palazzo, with its lofty carved ceilings and frescoes on the walls, with its floors of mosaic, with its heavy yellow stuff curtains on the windows, with its vases on pedestals, and its open fireplaces, its carved doors and gloomy reception rooms, hung with pictures--this palazzo did much, by its very appearance after they had moved into it, to confirm in Vronsky the agreeable illusion that he was not so much a Russian country gentleman, a retired army officer, as an enlightened amateur and patron of the arts, himself a modest artist who had renounced the world, his connections, and his ambition for the sake of the woman he loved.

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Passepartout, who had been anxiously watching this amateur gymnast, approached him with lively interest, and learned that he had taken flight after an unpleasant domestic scene.

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He was accompanied by Captain Stewart, the amateur traveller; who had not yet sated his appetite for the adventurous life of the wilderness.

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No: the insatiable amateur had his own purpose to gain, and was not exhausted yet.

View in context