pro

noun \ ˈprō \

|Updated on: 14 Aug 2018

Examples: pro in a Sentence

Definition of pro

plural pros

1 : an argument or evidence in affirmation

an appraisal of the pros and cons

2 : the affirmative side or one holding it

Examples of pro in a Sentence

He is a pro when it comes to household repairs.
She handled that tricky situation like an old pro.

Recent Examples of pro from the Web

No matter what happens against Raonic, the 23-year-old McDonald has already put together his breakout performance as a pro, adding him to the conversation of young American players to fill what has been a rather long void on the ATP Tour.

— dan wolken, USA TODAY, "Mackenzie McDonald's Wimbledon run has been extra special for his former coach at UCLA," 8 July 2018
These different approaches each have pros and cons.

— The Economist, "The future of food, served up right here in augmented reality," 7 July 2018
The Georgia native emerged onto a stage as a seasoned pro.

— Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Best and worst of Summerfest Day 1: Kane Brown, Walker Hayes, Jethro Tull and more," 27 June 2018
After playing basketball in the Philadelphia area for almost his entire life so far, B.J. Johnson is headed south of the Mason-Dixon line to begin life as a pro.

— mitchell gladstone, Philly.com, "La Salle, Lower Merion alum B.J. Johnson joins Charlotte Hornets' NBA summer league team," 25 June 2018
Imagine asking for a comparison of the pros and cons of Hawaii and Fiji as vacation destinations, or an explanation of different views on a topic in the news.

— tom simonite, WIRED, "Now the Computer Can Argue With You," 19 June 2018
In 51 of his 122 games with the Seawolves, Mantha recorded 30 or more saves Mantha spent much of his first partial season as a pro on loan to the Adirondack Thunder of the ECHL.

— beth bragg, Anchorage Daily News, "3 Seawolves honored for their success in the classroom and on the playing field," 15 June 2018
Check out this stat: Woods won 14 times in his first 46 major starts as a pro, culminating with his epic U.S. Open triumph over Mediate 10 years ago.

— ron kroichick, San Francisco Chronicle, "U.S. Open has many contenders, but don’t underestimate Tiger," 13 June 2018
The two-time Olympian has two priorities as a pro: qualifying for her third Games and finishing her psychology degree.

— michelle r. martinelli, For The Win, "Why Katie Ledecky decided to become a pro swimmer now," 6 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'pro.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of pro

Middle English, from Latin, preposition, for — more at for

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

pro

adverb

Definition of pro

: on the affirmative side : in affirmation

much has been written pro and con

See pro defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of pro from the Web

Vick, who had been planning to turn pro with no possibility of returning to school, changed his mind and withdrew from the draft on May 31.

— gary bedore, kansascity, "Former KU guard Devonté Graham signs contract, produces in first game for Hornets," 6 July 2018
Other forwards expected to vie for spots in Detroit include 2015 first-round pick Evgeny Svechnikov, as well as David Pope, who has turned pro after finishing his college career at Nebraska-Omaha.

— helene st. james, Detroit Free Press, "Detroit Red Wings in NHL free agency: 5 players team has contacted," 29 June 2018
But since pro-democracy protests erupted in March 2011, Syrians detect a more sectarian approach to policymaking.

— The Economist, "How a victorious Bashar al-Assad is changing Syria," 28 June 2018
His Socialists secured support for the no-confidence motion from a number of other parties in parliament, including the anti-austerity Podemos, Catalan pro-independence parties and the Basque Nationalist Party.

— laura smith-spark and elena gyldenkerne, CNN, "Astronaut Pedro Duque appointed to Spain's new Cabinet," 6 June 2018
While government officials haven’t endorsed the view, pro-democracy lawmakers worry that such remarks could represent the latest Communist Party effort to curb free expression in the former British colony.

— david tweed, Bloomberg.com, "China’s Warning About ‘Dictatorship’ Chant Chills Hong Kong Vigil," 4 June 2018
In 2015, Hastings donated $1.5 million to a political action committee that supported pro-charter candidates including Ref Rodriguez in his successful bid for school board.

— jason mcgahan, Los Angeles Magazine, "How Wealthy Charter-School Advocates Have Shaped the Race for California Governor," 4 June 2018
After turning pro, Champ moved to San Antonio because his best friend lived here and excellent golf courses can be found all over the place.

— roy bragg, San Antonio Express-News, "Young golfer makes his bid to play with the big boys," 19 Apr. 2018
Right-wing populist outlets like Fox News are hyper-partisan, being both pro-Trump and pro-GOP (since the two positions are merged).

— jeet heer, New Republic, "The Lively Irrelevance of Conservative Magazines," 30 Jan. 2018

Origin and Etymology of pro

pro-

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

pro

preposition

Definition of pro

: in favor of : for

Origin and Etymology of pro

Latin

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1817

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

pro

noun or adjective

Definition of pro

: professional

See pro defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of pro from the Web

The late Drazen Petrovic and Toni Kukoc exported their basketball talents to the NBA back in the 1990s; now, Dario Saric (Philadephia 76ers) and Bojan Bogdanovic (Indiana Pacers) are solid pros.

— sean gregory, Time, "32 Teams Entered, 2 Remain. Your Ultimate Guide to the World Cup Final," 13 July 2018
Quintana is a pro and figures to work his way back toward consistency, which admittedly sounds a little like wishful thinking.

— david haugh, chicagotribune.com, "Kyle Hendricks' mastery of Giants suggests sabbatical over for 'The Professor'," 10 July 2018
Selden, 23, is a third-year pro who averaged 9.3 points and 1.9 assists a game in 35 games for the Grizzlies this past season.

— gary bedore, kansascity, "One Kansas freshman, one junior listed as possible draft picks in 2019 by SI.com," 28 June 2018
Hays professed nervousness at being a first-time interviewer, but LuPone is such a pro that probing wasn’t needed to elicit passionate, funny and perhaps even frank (see below) tales.

— leah garchik, SFChronicle.com, "Does Patti LuPone forgive Andrew Lloyd Webber?," 18 June 2018
That’s the question and the Times piece suggests there was a quid pro.

— nitasha tiku, WIRED, "A New Privacy Problem Could Deepen Facebook's Legal Trouble," 5 June 2018
Photograph by Casey Rodgers / AP Images for POM Wonderful While sloths by nature tend to be uncomfortable with things like loud noises and strange humans, this particular fitness sloth is a pro.

— brittany martin, Los Angeles Magazine, "Sloth Barre Is the New Goat Yoga and We’ve Never Been More Into Exercise," 29 May 2018
Justin’s grandfather, Paul Thomas, was a longtime golf pro who qualified for three major championships in the early 1960s.

— brian costa, WSJ, "The Secret to Raising a Golf Prodigy Isn’t What You Think It Is," 27 Apr. 2018
That immutability and information-storing feature of certain blockchains however is both a pro and a con.

— lucinda shen, Fortune, "As China Censors MeToo Activists, Ethereum's Blockchain Proves to Be an Unlikely Ally," 25 Apr. 2018

First Known Use of pro

1856

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

PRO

abbreviation

Definition of PRO

public relations officer

pro-

prefix

Definition of pro-

1 a : earlier than : prior to : before

prothalamion

b : rudimentary : prot-

pronucleus

c : precursory

proinsulin

2 a : located in front of or at the front of : anterior to

procephalic

b : front : anterior

prothorax

3 : projecting

prognathous

Origin and Etymology of pro-

New Latin, from Latin, from Greek, before, forward, forth, for, from pro — more at for

pro-

prefix

Definition of pro-

1 : taking the place of : substituting for

procathedral

procaine

2 : favoring : supporting : championing

pro-American

Origin and Etymology of pro-

Latin pro in front of, before, for, forward — more at for

PRO Defined for English Language Learners

pro

adverb

Definition of pro for English Language Learners

: in favor of something

pro

adjective

Definition of pro for English Language Learners

: paid to participate in a sport or activity
: done by people who are paid to play or compete in a sport or activity

PRO Defined for Kids

pro

noun \ ˈprō \

Definition of pro for Students

plural pros

: an argument or evidence in favor of something

We weighed the pros and cons of wind power.

pro

adverb

Definition of pro for Students

: in favor of something

We heard arguments pro and con.

pro

noun or adjective

Definition of pro for Students

: professional

pro athletes

He sank the putt like a pro.

pro-

prefix

Definition of pro- for Students

: approving : in favor of

Medical Dictionary

Pro

abbreviation

medical Definition of Pro

proline; prolyl

PRO

abbreviation

medical Definition of PRO

peer review organization

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pro

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pro

Definition of pro

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pro

Definition of pro

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PRO

Definition of PRO

pro-

Definition of pro-

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pro-

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PRO Defined for English Language Learners

pro

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pro

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pro

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pro

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pro

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pro-

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Medical Dictionary

Pro

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PRO

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