as in amateur
a person who regularly or occasionally engages in an activity as a pastime rather than as a profession the discussion about investing was geared more to the layman than to the professional investor

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of layman In laymen’s terms, said Peterson, the city was relying on $37 million in temporary American Rescue Plan Act pandemic relief funding for recurring programs and initiatives, and redirecting funding from one fund to another. Denise Crosby, Chicago Tribune, 31 Aug. 2025 In layman’s terms that means the period cycles app on your watch and phone, the ECG monitor on your watch, the app that measures your blood oxygen levels…the list goes on. Natasha Pearlman, Glamour, 29 Aug. 2025 In layman’s speak, the BCI , or brain-computer interface, allows Arbaugh to control a computer with his mind. Jessica Mathews, Fortune, 23 Aug. 2025 What transpires is a film bursting at the seams with heart, adored by laymen and critics alike. Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 25 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for layman
Recent Examples of Synonyms for layman
Noun
  • The dramatization of one of the darkest chapters in American crime history has drawn plaudits for sidestepping easy sensationalism about the Chicago contractor and amateur clown who murdered 33 boys in the 1970s, burying them in a crawl space beneath his house.
    Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 21 Oct. 2025
  • The first study, in the journal Nature, focused primarily on amateur (and a few professional) football players, all of whom died by 50.
    The New York Times News Service Syndicate, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Founded by engineers, designers, and lifelong tinkerers frustrated by the barriers to traditional CNC manufacturing, the company’s mission is to make powerful digital fabrication tools smarter, simpler, and more accessible.
    New Atlas, New Atlas, 16 Oct. 2025
  • This Space Cowboys vibe makes sense because this tech boom looks less like the last one — social apps powered by subway ads and nap pods — than the 1980s PC revolution, powered by tinkerers with motherboards and soldering irons.
    Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 14 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Layman.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/layman. Accessed 27 Oct. 2025.

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