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semiprofessional

semiprofessional

1 4.7
A person who plays a sport for pay part time while having another job
  • noun
  • /ˌsɛmiprəˈfɛʃənl/
translation icon : semiprofesional
  • He played as a semiprofessional soccer player, balancing his time between work and the team.
  • semiprofessional and professional
  • playing as a semiprofessional
  • semiprofessional model

Examples

  • For players caught between the semiprofessional and professional levels of the game, soccer is an uncertain lifestyle choice that constantly reminds us of its fleeting nature.

    Blog text (26)
  • Although they were drawn from all the social classes, they were predominantly from Social Class II and III, semiprofessional and skilled manual laborers.

    Academic text (1992)
  • They're semiprofessional cage fighters.

  • He is also a semiprofessional goalkeeper for the Kitsap Pumas in Bremerton, Wash.

    Blog text (26)
  • They were semiprofessional, Western, classically trained singers (mean age = 23.10 years, SD = 2.183; range = 21-27 years old) studying at several music colleges in the United Kingdom.

    Academic text (2012)
  • The local community center is hosting a game featuring a semiprofessional basketball team this weekend.

  • She joined a semiprofessional league that allowed her to continue playing tennis while studying at university.

Synonyms

semipro
vssemiprofessional
  • Informal
2 6.6

A person who plays a sport for money but not as a full-time professional

refers to the full more formal form used in neutral contexts

Antonyms

16 3.5

An athlete who is paid to play a sport

How Professional

professional
401 3.7
semiprofessional
1 4.7
amateur
122 2.8

Surface Forms

Morphology

semiprofessional = professional (transparent) = semi + profession + al

Adding semi- to professional straightforwardly means 'partly professional' or 'part-time professional' with only a mild contextual specialization.

Etymology

Semiprofessional combines semi- meaning 'half', like in semicircle, and professional, so it describes someone who is partly a pro — they are 'paid' but 'part-time', not a full-time professional.