amateur
noun
-ˌtu̇r
Did you know?
Should amateur only be used literally?
The earliest sense of amateur ("one that has a marked fondness, liking, or taste") is strongly connected to its roots: the word came into English from the French amateur, which in turn comes from the Latin word for “lover” (amator). This has led some people to assume that the word is properly used only in the sense “one who performs something for love rather than for money.” However, as is the case with so many other English words, amateur may mean two strikingly different things, referring to one who does something for the love of it and also to one who is not terribly competent at something.
Our earliest record of the word's literal sense comes from a 1777 source. By 1790, however, it was already being used in the somewhat condescending extended sense, as seen in George Rous’s description of Edmund Burke as “a bystander, a mere amateur of aristocracy” in his Thoughts on Government.
Examples of amateur in a Sentence
Mike Stunson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 23 Oct. 2025
The dramatization of one of the darkest chapters in American crime history has drawn plaudits for sidestepping easy sensationalism about the Chicago contractor and amateur clown who murdered 33 boys in the 1970s, burying them in a crawl space beneath his house.
—Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 21 Oct. 2025
The first study, in the journal Nature, focused primarily on amateur (and a few professional) football players, all of whom died by 50.
—The New York Times News Service Syndicate, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Oct. 2025
James is one of them, though his kindly attempts to be there for Linda, as amateur repairman and reluctant babysitter, have a way of backfiring, usually on himself.
—Justin Chang, New Yorker, 9 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for amateur
Cite this Entry
“Amateur.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/amateur. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
amateur
noun
-ət-ər
-ə-ˌt(y)u̇(ə)r
from French amateur "one who admires or is devoted to something," derived from Latin amare "to love" — related to amorous
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