professional
pro·fes·sion·al / prəˈfeshənl/ • adj. 1. of, relating to, or connected with a profession: young professional people the professional schools of Yale and Harvard.2. (of a person) engaged in a specified activity as one's main paid occupation rather than as a pastime: a professional boxer. ∎ having or showing the skill appropriate to a professional person; competent or skillful: their music is both memorable and professional. ∎ worthy of or appropriate to a professional person: his professional expertise. ∎ inf., derog. denoting a person who persistently makes a feature of a particular activity or attribute: a professional naysayer.• n. a person engaged or qualified in a profession: professionals such as lawyers and surveyors. ∎ a person engaged in a specified activity, esp. a sport or branch of the performing arts, as a main paid occupation rather than as a pastime. ∎ a person competent or skilled in a particular activity: she was a real professional on stage.DERIVATIVES: pro·fes·sion·al·ly / -shənl-ē/ adv.