Spelling.School · How to spell

How to spell amateur

hear itam·a·teur/'æmə,ʧʊr/nounSchwa and roots

What it means: Someone who is not a professional in a field.

In a sentence: Tom is an amateur at playing the piano, but he practices every day.

The part people get wrong

Watch for an unstressed vowel that is hard to hear. Often misspelled as amatuer or amature.

Same family: professional, novice, beginner, hobbyist, amateurish. If you can spell one, the shared part carries to the others.

Where it comes from: “Amateur” comes from French and ultimately from the Latin word “amator,” meaning “lover.” It originally described someone who does something for the love of it, not for money, which is why an amateur is often a non-professional enthusiast.

Patterns it uses: The unstressed vowel (schwa)

Try spelling it

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