I. pro ‧ fes ‧ sion ‧ al 1 S2 W1 AC /prəˈfeʃ ə nəl/ BrE AmE adjective
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ profession , ↑ professional , ↑ professionalism ; adverb : ↑ professionally , ↑ unprofessionally ; adjective : ↑ professional ≠ ↑ unprofessional ]
1 . JOB [only before noun]
a) relating to a job that needs special education and training:
What professional qualifications does he have?
It is essential to get good professional advice.
You may need to seek professional help.
b) relating to your job or work and not to your private life:
professional contacts
2 . WELL TRAINED showing that someone has been well trained and is good at their work:
This business plan looks very professional.
a more professional approach to work
3 . PAID doing a job, sport, or activity for money, rather than just for fun ⇨ amateur :
a professional tennis player
a professional army
turn/go professional (=start to do something as a job)
4 . TEAM/EVENT done by or relating to people who are paid to do a sport or activity ⇨ amateur :
a professional hockey team
The golf tournament is a professional event.
5 . professional person/man/woman etc someone who works in a profession, or who has an important position in a company or business:
We’d prefer to rent the house to a professional couple.
6 . professional liar/complainer etc someone who lies or complains too much – used humorously
—professionalization /prəˌfeʃ ə nəlaɪˈzeɪʃ ə n $ -lə-/ noun [uncountable] :
the increasing professionalization of childcare services
—professionalize /prəˈfeʃ ə nəlaɪz/ verb [transitive]
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ nouns
▪ professional advice
Everyone considering buying a house should seek professional advice.
▪ professional help
It is very important for parents to get professional help if this problem arises.
▪ professional qualifications
Many of the courses lead directly to professional qualifications.
▪ professional training
All the charity’s workers are volunteers, without professional training.
▪ professional standards
The Law Society’s function is to maintain the highest professional standards.
▪ a professional body/association (=organization that people from a particular profession can belong to)
Is your architect a member of a professional body?
▪ a professional career
After retiring from sport, he began his professional career as a journalist.
▪ sb’s professional life
At this point she took the biggest risk of her professional life.
II. professional 2 W3 AC BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ profession , ↑ professional , ↑ professionalism ; adverb : ↑ professionally , ↑ unprofessionally ; adjective : ↑ professional ≠ ↑ unprofessional ]
1 . someone who earns money by doing a job, sport, or activity that many other people do just for fun ⇨ amateur :
Hurd signed as a professional in 1998.
top snooker professionals
2 . someone who works in a job that needs special education and training, such as a doctor, lawyer, or ↑ architect :
health professionals (=doctors, nurses etc)
3 . someone who has a lot of experience and does something very skilfully:
You sing like a real professional.
4 . tennis/golf/swimming etc professional someone who is very good at a sport and is employed by a private club to teach its members