Sports / B1

AM-uh-t-uh/ˈæmətə/

Amateur means unpaid or not professional: an amateur orchestra; amateur dramatics. It can also mean unskilful (an amateur mistake). Professional is the opposite in sport and work. Amateurish is only the critical sense. Do not call a paid intern amateur, and do not use it as an insult in a formal reference without care.

Meaning

Doing something for pleasure, not as a paid job; also not very skilful.

Examples

• “She plays in an amateur orchestra at the weekend.”
• “She plays in an amateur orchestra at the town hall.”
• “The wiring was an amateur job and failed the inspection, which is the critical sense.”

Good to know

amateur + sport/arts (unpaid). Opposite: professional. Critical: amateurish / an amateur mistake. Stress: AM-uh-tuh (UK).

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