amateur

plural amateurs

1. archaicA lover of something.

   he conducted extensive correspondence on wines with European suppliers, employing a wine vocabulary familiar to any modern amateur of wines.

   2006, John Hailman, Thomas Jefferson on Wine, University of Mississippi, published 2006, page x

2. A person attached to a particular pursuit, study, science, or art (such as music or painting), especially one who cultivates any study, interest, taste, or attachment without engaging in it professionally.

   The contest is only open to amateurs.

   1 more example

   You see, I'm not an official in any sense so I can't plead privilege and invoke the powers to back me. In the eyes of a jury I should be merely an interfering amateur—and there's such a thing as defamation.

   1934, Ernest Bramah [pseudonym; Ernest Brammah Smith], The Bravo of London

   Synonyms: hobbyist

3. Someone who is unqualified or insufficiently skillful.

   The entire thing was built by some amateurs with screwdrivers and plywood.

   Synonyms: dabbler, dilettante, punk

comparative more amateur · superlative most amateur

1. Non-professional.
2. Created, done, or populated by amateurs or non-professionals.

   amateur sports

3. Showing a lack of professionalism, experience or talent.

   Duct tape is a sure sign of amateur workmanship.

   1 more example

   To put that into perspective, this celebrity wedding is officially way more secure than last year’s US operation to bomb Houthi targets in Yemen, in advance of which you might recall a journalist was added to the top-level group chat by the then national security adviser. So amateur. Taylor would never.

   2026 July 3, Marina Hyde, “The US turns 250 and Taylor Swift gets married. I think we all know which is a bigger deal”, in The Guardian, →ISSN