# professional

Pronunciation: say "pruh-FESH-uh-nuhl" /pɹəˈfɛʃənəl/

## Adjective

1. Carried out for money, especially as one's main way of earning a living.
   - Simple: Done as a paid job rather than just for fun.
   - _She became a professional dancer after years of unpaid shows._
   - _He plays professional basketball for a living._
2. Having or showing the skill, quality, or standards of conduct expected of a trained expert; competent, polished, and businesslike.
   - Simple: Done with the skill, care, and good behavior you expect from a trained expert.
   - _The report was polished and professional, meeting every standard the firm expected._
   - _His professional conduct impressed the review board._

## Noun

3. A person who belongs to a profession, typically one requiring advanced training and qualification.
   - Simple: A person who works in a job that needs special training or study.
   - _The conference brought together professionals from medicine, law, and engineering._
   - _As a professional, she is bound by a strict code of conduct._
4. A person who earns their living from a particular activity.
   - Simple: Someone who earns money doing a certain activity as their job.
   - _As a professional, she earns her entire income from tennis._
   - _Many professionals on the tour rely on sponsorships to cover travel._
5. A person who is highly skilled or expert at something.
   - Simple: A person who is very good at something.
   - _She negotiated the deal with the cool confidence of a professional._
   - _Watching him repair the watch, you could tell he was a true professional._
6. A polite, indirect way of referring to a prostitute.
   - Simple: A polite, indirect word for a prostitute.
   - _The vice detective said several professionals met their paying clients at that hotel bar._
   - _In the novel, she hints that she is a professional when she tells him what a night with her costs._

## Other meanings

- (noun) In Horowitz's classification, a sociologist chiefly concerned with promoting sociology as a profession.

## Origin

In Middle English it appeared in spellings such as professhennalle and professhynalle. In modern terms the word is simply profession with the suffix -al added.

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