amateur

amateur — adjective

1. done by people in their free time because they enjoy it, rather than as the work

1.adjectiveC1
Definition

done by people in their free time because they enjoy it, rather than as the work they earn money from.

Example

Rina joined an amateur choir that meets every Tuesday after work.

amateur + hobby group

The town museum showed amateur paintings from local high school teachers.

Common collocations
  • amateur choir
  • amateur photographer
  • amateur cook
  • amateur birdwatcher
Synonyms
  • recreational

    more formal; often used for activities rather than people.

  • hobby

    used before nouns in compounds such as 'hobby farm'; less general than 'amateur'.

  • non-professional

    more explicit about not doing something as a paid job.

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

amateur + role noun

amateur + activity noun

Usage Note

Usually placed before a noun naming the person or activity, such as 'amateur cook' or 'amateur choir'. Distinguish from adjective sense 2: this sense is about doing something in free time, while sense 2 focuses on unpaid competitive status.

Common Mistakes

My brother is amateur in cooking.
My brother is an amateur cook.
before nouns, 'amateur' normally goes directly before the role or activity word.
She plays amateur piano.
She plays the piano as an amateur.
do not put 'amateur' directly before an instrument name.

2. used for games, contests, and similar events whose players or competitors are no

2.adjectiveC1
Definition

used for games, contests, and similar events whose players or competitors are not paid.

Example

The school still runs an amateur boxing league with no prize money.

amateur + sport with unpaid players

Golfer Mia kept her amateur status and refused the cash award.

fixed phrase: amateur status

Common collocations
  • amateur boxing
  • amateur golf
  • amateur status
  • amateur team
Synonyms
  • unpaid

    states the money point directly, but does not suggest sport by itself.

  • non-professional

    broader; can describe players, clubs, or events outside professional systems.

  • grassroots

    often stresses local community sport rather than official pay status.

Antonyms
  • professional

    used for players or events where people compete for pay.

Grammar Patterns

amateur + sport noun

amateur status

Usage Note

Most common with sports, leagues, tournaments, and official status rules. Distinguish from adjective sense 1: sense 1 can describe any free-time activity, but this sense usually matters where payment would change eligibility.

Common Mistakes

He won an amateur salary.
He kept his amateur status and took no salary.
this sense means no pay, not a small amount of pay.
The club opened an amateur office.
The club opened an amateur boxing gym.
this sense usually modifies sports or competitions, not ordinary workplaces.

3. showing weak technique or too little know-how, so the result seems rough or clum

3.adjectiveC1
Definition

showing weak technique or too little know-how, so the result seems rough or clumsy.

Example

The poster looked amateur, with crooked lines and uneven red paint.

predicative use after look

His amateur editing left long pauses in the wedding video.

amateur + work noun

Common collocations
  • look amateur
  • amateur editing
  • amateur website
  • amateur campaign
Synonyms
  • clumsy

    stresses awkward execution more than unpaid status.

  • sloppy

    suggests carelessness as well as weak skill.

  • amateurish

    slightly more direct and often more critical.

Antonyms
  • polished

    carefully finished and smooth in quality.

  • professional

    can describe work that looks skilled and well finished.

Grammar Patterns

look / sound / feel amateur

amateur + work noun

Usage Note

Often used critically after linking verbs such as 'look', 'sound', and 'feel'. It judges the quality of the result, not whether the maker is paid; compare adjective senses 1 and 2.

Common Mistakes

The film was amateur because students made it.
The film looked amateur because the sound kept cutting out.
this sense criticizes poor quality, not simply the age or pay of the makers.
She is amateur at tennis.
She is an amateur tennis player.' or 'Her tennis looks amateur.
before 'at', use the noun sense; this adjective sense describes the quality of the performance.

amateur — noun

Word family

  • amateurish
    adjectiveC2
  • amateurishly
    adverbC2
  • amateurism
    nounC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

For noun sense 1, an amateur is a person who does an activity without making it their paid profession. A hobbyist is often even more free-time focused, especially with home projects such as model building or gardening. An enthusiast mainly highlights strong interest; an enthusiast may read, collect, or talk about a subject without doing it well. A novice is different because it means a beginner, so an amateur photographer may still be highly skilled after years of practice. A layperson is an outsider to a specialist field, especially law or medicine, and does not necessarily practise it at all. You can say, 'Keiko is an amateur pianist but not a novice,' or 'Ask a lawyer, not a layperson, to read the contract.'

hobbyistenthusiast ↗novice ↗layperson ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • amateur photographer
  • amateur boxer
  • amateur theatre

Adverbs

  • strictly amateur

Phrases

  • amateur status
  • rank amateur

Prepositions

  • amateur at
  • amateur in

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

English borrowed amateur from French, where it referred to a person who loves or enjoys something. The deeper root is Latin amare, meaning 'to love', which helps explain why the word first centered on doing an activity out of liking rather than for pay.