From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishamateuram‧a‧teur1 /ˈamətə, -tʃʊə, -tʃə, ˌæməˈtɜː $ ˈæmətʃʊr, -tər/ ●○○ noun [countable] 1 JOB/WORKsomeone who does an activity just for pleasure, not as their job OPP professional a gifted amateur Mickelson won his first major golf tournament while still an amateur.2 informal 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 amateurism
Examples from the Corpus
amateur• Expectations for Verplank soared after that tour victory in 1985, the first by an amateur since Gene Littler in 1954.• Compared to those guys, I'm an amateur.• They are a magnet for tourists, experienced boaters and amateurs alike.• 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.• The orchestra is made up entirely of amateurs.• The cast was made up mostly of amateurs.• From 175 out of 450 county cricketers in 1949 the number of amateurs fell to 72 out of 370 in 1961.• The first time, in 1962, Daley ran a political amateur for sheriff and Ogilvie beat him.• John Enright of the Olympic Club is one of the amateurs.amateuramateur2 ●○○ adjective 1 doing something for pleasure, or done for pleasure, and not as a job OPP professional an amateur golfer amateur dramatics British English (=producing or acting in plays for pleasure)2 amateurish It was a very amateur performance.From Longman Business Dictionaryamateuram‧a‧teur /ˈæmətə, -tʃʊə, -tʃə, ˌæməˈtɜːˈæmətʃʊr, -tər/ noun [countable] someone who does an activity for pleasure, not as a jobHe thinks the drawings could be the work of an amateur. —amateur adjectiveamateur photographersOrigin amateur (1700-1800) French Latin amator “lover”, from amare “to love” 