# pro

Pronunciation: say "PROH" US /pɹoʊ/, UK /pɹəʊ/

## Noun

1. A professional, especially an athlete who competes for pay, or anyone highly skilled at something. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Someone paid to do something as their job, especially a sport, or anyone very good at something.
   - _She handled the angry customers like a pro._
   - _Leave the wiring to the pros. It isn't worth the risk._
3. An advantage of something, especially one weighed against its disadvantages.
   - Simple: A good point about something, often listed next to its bad points.
   - _The biggest pro of working from home is skipping the commute._
   - _We spent an evening listing the pros and cons of moving to the suburbs._
5. Someone who supports a particular idea or principle.
   - Simple: A person who agrees with and supports an idea.
   - _Ask any pro and you'll hear that the stadium will bring jobs; ask an anti and you'll hear about traffic and noise._
   - _When the council proposed a new highway, the town split into pros and antis who refused to share a table at meetings._
6. A person who provides sex in exchange for payment. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A person who is paid to have sex with people.
   - _A couple of pros were working the corner outside the bus station._
   - _The detective asked a pro on Fifth Street whether the man had ever been one of her customers._

## Preposition

2. In favor of; supporting.
   - Simple: In favor of something, or supporting it.
   - _The mayor is pro development, as long as the new buildings include affordable housing._
   - _She's not exactly pro the plan, but she won't vote against it._

## Adjective

4. Working, done or played for pay, or of the standard expected of a paid expert.
   - Simple: Working or done as a paid job, or as good as a paid expert's work.
   - _After the knee injury, he never played pro football again._
   - _She landed a pro gig editing videos for a travel company._

## Other meanings

- (noun) A chemical preventive taken after sex to avoid contracting a venereal disease.
- (noun) Short for proproctor, the deputy who assists a university proctor.

## Origin

**Meanings 2–3, 5** — From Late Middle English pro, from Latin prō ("on behalf of").
**Meanings 1, 4** — A shortened form (clipping) of professional.
**Meaning 6** — A shortened form (clipping) of prostitute.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/pro (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).