Definition of "amateur" []

• A person who engages in an art, science, study, or athletic activity as a pastime rather than as a profession. (noun)
• Sports An athlete who has never accepted money, or who accepts money under restrictions specified by a regulatory body, for participating in a competition. (noun)
• One lacking the skill of a professional, as in an art. (noun)
• Of or performed by an amateur. (adjective)
• Made up of amateurs: an amateur cast. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Then it dawned on me that the word "amateur" comes from the French word meaning "to love.""
• "I totally agree with your etymological assessment of the term amateur, I will always be an amateur, never a professional. lichanos"
• "But I don't think the term amateur is being used that way here."