professional
/prəˈfɛʃ(ə)n(ə)l
/adjective
1Relating to or belonging to a profession: young professional people...
- Currently, some 1.2 million professional men and women belong to more than 29,600 clubs worldwide.
- But ultimately, the credit for the way he has dealt with his personal and professional problems belongs entirely to him.
- They are not professional singers and belonged to different fields.
Synonyms
white-collar, executive, non-manual
1.1Worthy of or appropriate to a professional person; competent, skilful, or assured: his professional expertise their music is both memorable and professional...
- Expertise and professional competence in anything comes from time doing the work, either professionally or as a hobby.
- They were professional, competent, experienced commanders, and most spoke English.
- An experienced guerilla fighter with a professional competence in civil engineering could think of a good deal more.
Synonyms
expert, accomplished, skilful, adept, masterly, masterful, excellent, fine, polished, finished, skilled, proficient, competent, capable, able, efficient, experienced, practised, trained, seasoned, slick, businesslike, deft, dexterous
informal ace, crack, stellar, top-notch
2Engaged in a specified activity as one’s main paid occupation rather than as an amateur: a professional boxer...
- So, instead of pursuing his Olympic dream in the amateurs, Smith turned professional, in 1994.
- His decision has spread dismay in the amateur ranks, and his coach Joe Gallagher believes the Salford boxer might have turned professional too early.
- He turned professional two years ago after reigning as Britain's amateur champion for four years from 1998 to 2002.
Synonyms
paid, salaried, non-amateur, full-time
2.1 informal, derogatory Habitually making a feature of a particular activity or attribute: a professional gloom-monger...
- A professional northerner, the episodes she featured in seemed like a cross-promotion for spending winter in Blackpool.
- The main story mode has been revamped since 2003, and now features professional idiot Bam Margera.
- And that is because no sooner are they announced than they provoke widespread fear and condemnation from an army of professional naysayers.
noun
1A person engaged or qualified in a profession: professionals such as lawyers and surveyors...
- Many of them are qualified professionals: teachers, engineers, social workers.
- There are few qualified teachers or other professionals who are able to work on a semi-voluntary basis.
- Psychologists are among the most qualified professionals to perform this assessment.
Synonyms
white-collar worker, professional worker, office worker
1.1A person engaged in a specified activity, especially a sport, as a main paid occupation rather than as a pastime: his first season as a professional...
- Charles showed some talent on the rugby field before becoming a racing driver and feels that he would have become a professional in that sport if he had not given it up for racing.
- His advice to you, apart from the actual playing of the game, but more about emerging as a young professional within the sport?
- Seven other professional cyclists and seven professionals from other sports were also targeted.
Synonyms
professional player, non-amateur, paid player
informal pro
1.2A person competent or skilled in a particular activity: she was a real professional on stage...
- They can be real professionals and expose wrongdoing even if it involves their leaders.
- He is a real professional, currently a senior executive at McGraw-Hill, a very close friend of mine.
- Amazingly, by train and taxi, Abrams made the fight, the sign of a real professional.
Synonyms
expert, master, maestro, past master, trooper, adept, virtuoso, old hand, skilled person, authority
informal pro, ace, whizz, hotshot, ninja
British informal dab hand, wizard
North American informal maven, crackerjack
rare proficient
