I. pro 1 /prəʊ $ proʊ/ BrE AmE noun ( plural pros ) [countable]
[ Date: 1800-1900 ; Origin: professional ]
1 . someone who is paid to do something, especially play a sport, that other people do for pleasure SYN professional OPP amateur :
a tennis pro
the small gap between top amateurs and pros in golf
2 . informal ( also old pro ) someone who has had a lot of experience with a particular type of situation:
Cathy’s an old pro at organizing raffles.
3 . pros and cons the advantages and disadvantages of something
the pros and cons of (doing) something
We discussed the pros and cons of going to university.
4 . British English old-fashioned informal a ↑ prostitute
⇨ ↑ pro forma , ↑ pro rata
II. pro 2 BrE AmE adjective informal
1 . paid to do something, especially play a sport, that other people do for pleasure SYN professional
turn/go pro
Most young talented players are determined to turn pro.
2 . American English played or done by people who are paid for what they do:
pro basketball
III. pro 3 BrE AmE preposition
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Latin ; Origin: 'for' ]
if you are pro an idea, suggestion etc, you support it:
As a party, they had always been pro family.