amateur1 nounamateur2 adjective
amateuram‧a‧teur1 /ˈamətə, -tʃʊə, -tʃə, ˌæməˈtɜː $ ˈæmətʃʊr, -tər/ ●○○ noun [countable] 
WORD ORIGINamateur
Origin:
1700-1800 French, Latin amator ‘lover’, from amare ‘to love’EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- Compared to those guys, I'm an amateur.
- The cast was made up mostly of amateurs.
- The orchestra is made up entirely of amateurs.
- Expectations for Verplank soared after that tour victory in 1985, the first by an amateur since Gene Littler in 1954.
- From 175 out of 450 county cricketers in 1949 the number of amateurs fell to 72 out of 370 in 1961.
- It is obvious that it thought the enlightened amateur, like Hope himself, was the ideal judge.
- Jack Lemmon, his longtime amateur partner, will be absent after 23 consecutive unsuccessful attempts to make the pro-am cut.
- John Enright of the Olympic Club is one of the amateurs.
- The first time, in 1962, Daley ran a political amateur for sheriff and Ogilvie beat him.
- They are a magnet for tourists, experienced boaters and amateurs alike.
Longman Language Activatorthe activity or study of acting
the job or skill of being an actor: · You shouldn't take up acting as a career; it's a very risky business.· Gloria Reuben quit acting to join Tina Turner on stage as a backing singer and dancer.
British /theater American the business and activity of arranging, acting in, and performing plays in theatres: · She does some TV work, but theatre remains her first love.· the use of theatre in primary school educationthe theatre/the theater: · Shakespeare's plays were written for the theater, but many people study them as literature.
the study of acting and plays as a subject at school, college, or university: · He studied English and Drama at Manchester University.· a drama student· I was never much good at drama when I was a kid - probably because I was very shy.
acting in plays as an activity that you do in your free time for enjoyment, not as a job you get paid for: · Jonathan once appeared in a local amateur dramatics production of 'Death of a Salesman'.· Her hobbies include amateur dramatics and horse riding.
when you are paid or not paid for doing an activity or sport a professional sports player, musician, actor etc gets paid for playing, acting etc, and they do it as their job: · Professional basketball players can earn millions of dollars.
an amateur sports player, musician, actor etc does not get paid for playing, acting etc , but they do it for enjoyment: · A group of amateur actors performed 'Romeo and Juliet'.· an amateur photographer
British /volunteer American voluntary or volunteer work is done by people who do it because they believe it is useful, and do not expect to be paid: · When she retired, she did a lot of voluntary work for the Red Cross.
not paid : unpaid worker/volunteer etc: · Perry stayed on with the Agency as an unpaid adviser.unpaid work/service/overtime etc: · Employees were often required to work unpaid overtime.unpaid leave/holiday/vacation: · The company allows its employees to take unpaid leave for various reasons.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
They make us look like rank amateurs (=not at all good or professional).
1someone who does an activity just for pleasure, not as their job OPP professional: · It isn’t easy to become a successful professional actor.
(=someone with a fairly low level of skill who tries hard)· There are a few professionals in the race, but most are enthusiastic amateurs.
· The standard of women's amateur golf is certainly improving.
They make us look like rank amateurs (=not at all good or professional). a gifted amateur Mickelson won his first major golf tournament while still an amateur.2informal someone who you think is not very skilled at something: You English are a bunch of amateurs when it comes to romance.—amateurism noun [uncountable]: well-meaning amateurismamateur1 nounamateur2 adjective
amateuramateur2 ●○○ adjective COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY amateur dramatics British English (=producing or acting in plays for pleasure)COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES They make us look like rank amateurs (=not at all good or professional).
1doing something for pleasure, or done for pleasure, and not as a job OPP professional: amateur dramatics British English (=producing or acting in plays for pleasure)· It isn’t easy to become a successful professional actor.
(=someone with a fairly low level of skill who tries hard)· There are a few professionals in the race, but most are enthusiastic amateurs.
· The standard of women's amateur golf is certainly improving.
They make us look like rank amateurs (=not at all good or professional). an amateur golfer amateur dramatics British English (=producing or acting in plays for pleasure)2amateurish: It was a very amateur performance.