prospect

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: pros‧pect

noun

• (UK) IPA ^(key): /ˈprɒspɛkt/
• (US) enPR: präsʹpĕkt, IPA ^(key): /ˈprɑspɛkt/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

verb

• (UK) enPR: prə-spĕktʹ, IPA ^(key): /prəˈspɛkt/
• (US) enPR: präsʹpĕkt, IPA ^(key): /ˈprɑspɛkt/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

Noun

Singular prospect

Plural prospects

1. (countable) A prospect is what you think will happen in the future.

   There's a good prospect of this building being converted into a school.

   Immigrants face the prospect of having to accept unskilled jobs at lower wages.

   There is little or no prospect of a new station being opened up on the east coast.

2. (countable) Your prospects are your chances of moving forward in your job or in your life.

   So I would congratulate her on her good prospects as a teacher.

   A new place offered some prospect of new beginnings.

   We are very worried about her prospects.

3. (countable) A prospect is somebody that think will do well in the future.

   At 18, she is one of Britain's best prospects for an Olympic medal in Barcelona this summer.

4. (countable) A prospect is somebody who might be a customer or worker in the future.

   Your best prospects are your previous customers.

Synonyms

• expectation
• anticipation
• possibility
• opportunity
• potential

Related words

• prospective

Verb

Plain form prospect

Third-person singular prospects

Past tense prospected

Past participle prospected

Present participle prospecting

1. (transitive & intransitive) If you prospect for something valuable, such as gold or oil, you search an area for it.

   Anglo-United was not the only company prospecting for gold in the early eighties.