prospect
verb/prəˈspekt/
/ˈprɑːspekt/
[intransitive]Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they prospect | /prəˈspekt/ /ˈprɑːspekt/ |
| he / she / it prospects | /prəˈspekts/ /ˈprɑːspekts/ |
| past simple prospected | /prəˈspektɪd/ /ˈprɑːspektɪd/ |
| past participle prospected | /prəˈspektɪd/ /ˈprɑːspektɪd/ |
| -ing form prospecting | /prəˈspektɪŋ/ /ˈprɑːspektɪŋ/ |
- prospect (for something) to search an area for gold, minerals, oil, etc.
- Thousands moved to the area to prospect for gold.
- (figurative) to prospect for new clients
Word Originlate Middle English (as a noun denoting the action of looking towards a distant object): from Latin prospectus ‘view’, from prospicere ‘look forward’, from pro- ‘forward’ + specere ‘to look’. Early use, referring to a view of landscape, gave rise to the meaning ‘mental picture’ (mid 16th cent.), which led to the meaning ‘anticipated event’.Definitions on the go
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prospect