PROFESSIONAL

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does professional mean? 

• PROFESSIONAL (noun)
  The noun PROFESSIONAL has 3 senses:

1. a person engaged in one of the learned professions

2. an athlete who plays for pay

3. an authority qualified to teach apprentices

  Familiarity information: PROFESSIONAL used as a noun is uncommon.

• PROFESSIONAL (adjective)
  The adjective PROFESSIONAL has 5 senses:

1. engaged in a profession or engaging in as a profession or means of livelihood

2. of or relating to or suitable as a profession

3. characteristic of or befitting a profession or one engaged in a profession

4. of or relating to a profession

5. engaged in by members of a profession

  Familiarity information: PROFESSIONAL used as an adjective is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PROFESSIONAL (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A person engaged in one of the learned professions

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

professional; professional person

Hypernyms ("professional" is a kind of...):

adult; grownup (a fully developed person from maturity onward)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "professional"):

careerist (a professional who is intent on furthering his or her career by any possible means and often at the expense of their own integrity)

craftsman (a professional whose work is consistently of high quality)

critic (a person who is professionally engaged in the analysis and interpretation of works of art)

educator; pedagog; pedagogue (someone who educates young people)

caregiver; health care provider; health professional; PCP; primary care provider (a person who helps in identifying or preventing or treating illness or disability)

attorney; lawyer (a professional person authorized to practice law; conducts lawsuits or gives legal advice)

bibliothec; librarian (a professional person trained in library science and engaged in library services)

practician; practitioner (someone who practices a learned profession)

publisher (a person engaged in publishing periodicals or books or music)

yuppie (a young upwardly mobile professional individual; a well-paid middle-class professional who works in a city and has a luxurious life style)

Holonyms ("professional" is a member of...):

professional organisation; professional organization (an organization of and for professional people)

Sense 2

Meaning:

An athlete who plays for pay

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

pro; professional

Hypernyms ("professional" is a kind of...):

athlete; jock (a person trained to compete in sports)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "professional"):

free agent ((sports) a professional athlete who is free to sign a contract to play for any team)

semipro; semiprofessional (an athlete who plays for pay on a part-time basis)

Antonym:

amateur (an athlete who does not play for pay)

Sense 3

Meaning:

An authority qualified to teach apprentices

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

master; professional

Hypernyms ("professional" is a kind of...):

authority (an expert whose views are taken as definitive)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "professional"):

past master (someone who was formerly a master)

• PROFESSIONAL (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Engaged in a profession or engaging in as a profession or means of livelihood

Context example:

professional actors and athletes

Similar:

nonrecreational; paid (involving gainful employment in something often done as a hobby)

professed (professing to be qualified)

Antonym:

nonprofessional (not professional; not engaged in a profession or engaging in as a profession or for gain)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Of or relating to or suitable as a profession

Classified under:

Relational adjectives (pertainyms)

Context example:

a professional field such as law

Pertainym:

profession (the body of people in a learned occupation)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Characteristic of or befitting a profession or one engaged in a profession

Context example:

a thoroughly professional performance

Antonym:

unprofessional (not characteristic of or befitting a profession or one engaged in a profession)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Of or relating to a profession

Classified under:

Relational adjectives (pertainyms)

Context example:

professional equipment for his new office

Pertainym:

profession (an occupation requiring special education (especially in the liberal arts or sciences))

Sense 5

Meaning:

Engaged in by members of a profession

Context example:

professional occupations include medicine and the law and teaching

Similar:

white-collar (of or designating salaried professional or clerical work or workers)

 Context examples 

However, this test requires patients to visit a health care professional and get lab tests.

(Diagnosing cystic fibrosis with wearable devices, NIH)

All day I was engaged in my professional work, and it was late in the evening before I returned to Baker Street.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Differences in cognitive abilities — and the resulting differences for example in academic success and professional careers — are attributed to a considerable degree to individual differences in intelligence.

(Smart People Have Better Connected Brains, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

It's not professional, but it's very delightful.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Whether in a developing embryo or a professional athlete, the same sequence leads to their formation.

(Researchers Discovered Proteins Essential to Development of Skeletal Muscle, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

It would be wise for you to join a professional or social club or both this year and to go to the programs offered.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

A class of professional or vocational positions of employment that involve office or administrative support.

(Office and Administrative Support Occupations, NCI Thesaurus)

No doubt they want his professional services, but, having used him, they may be inclined to punish him for what they will regard as his treachery.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The world's largest professional society concerned with the causes and treatment of blood disorders.

(American Society of Hematology, NCI Thesaurus)

I am aware, Mr. Holmes, that you take a very high line in professional matters, and that you are prepared to work for the work’s sake.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)