amateur

/ˈæ.mə.tə/

//ˈæ.mə.tə// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"amateur" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“amateur” has 9 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #4,913. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#4,913
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
9
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A lover of something.

Corpus desk

Index EN-amateur · amateur · English

amateur · rank #4,913 · 9 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-COMMON #4,913
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-MID 9 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH affordable

Nearest frequency peer: affordable (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “amateur”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “amateur” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

amateur vs Amadeus
57% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for amateur
PropertyValue
Headwordamateur
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈæ.mə.tə/
Letters7
Frequency rank#4,913
Misspellings tracked9
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “amateur”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).amateurlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “affordable” (#4,912), “appeals” (#4,914), “accidentally” (#4,911). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “amateur” is #4,913. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 9 spelling variants around amateur (IPA /ˈæ.mə.tə/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #4,913 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for amateur, with forms such as "aamteur", "amaetur", and "amateru". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "Amadeus", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French amateur, from Latin amātor (“lover”), from amāre (“to love”). The correct English form is amateur, spelled A-M-A-T-E-U-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    A lover of something.
  2. 2
    A person attached to a particular pursuit, study, science, or art (such as music or painting), especially one who cultivates any study, interest, taste, or attachment without engaging in it professionally.
  3. 3
    Someone who is unqualified or insufficiently skillful.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how amateur appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. he conducted extensive correspondence on wines with European suppliers, employing a wine vocabulary familiar to any modern amateur of wines.
  2. The contest is only open to amateurs.

Etymology

Borrowed from French amateur, from Latin amātor (“lover”), from amāre (“to love”).

Synonyms

hobbyistdabblerdilettantepunk

This word in other languages

amateur(Español)amateur(Français)Amateur(Deutsch)amador(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • aamteur
  • amaetur
  • amateru
  • amateurr
  • amatteur
  • amatuer
  • ammateur
  • amtaeur
  • maateur

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of amateur - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

aamteur2amaetur2amateru2amateurr1amatteur1amatuer2ammateur1amtaeur2
Edit distance from "amateur"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "amateur"?
"amateur" is spelled A-M-A-T-E-U-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈæ.mə.tə/.
What does "amateur" mean?
As a noun, "amateur" means: A lover of something.
What words are commonly confused with "amateur"?
"amateur" is commonly confused with "Amadeus". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "amateur"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "amateur" is /ˈæ.mə.tə/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "amateur"?
Borrowed from French amateur, from Latin amātor (“lover”), from amāre (“to love”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "amateur", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

appeals#4,914bearing#4,918biology#4,921briefly#4,923

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (9 here; floor ≥5).

batman9 variantsParker9 variantsoutdoor9 variantslaptop9 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list