prostrate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to cast (oneself ) face down on the ground in humility, submission, or adoration.
-
to lay flat, as on the ground.
-
to throw down level with the ground.
-
to overthrow, overcome, or reduce to helplessness.
-
to reduce to physical weakness or exhaustion.
adjective
-
lying flat or at full length, as on the ground.
-
lying face down on the ground, as in token of humility, submission, or adoration.
-
overthrown, overcome, or helpless.
a country left prostrate by natural disasters.
-
physically weak or exhausted.
-
utterly dejected or depressed; disconsolate.
-
Botany. (of a plant or stem) lying flat on the ground.
adjective
-
lying with the face downwards, as in submission
-
exhausted physically or emotionally
-
helpless or defenceless
-
(of a plant) growing closely along the ground
verb
-
to bow or cast (oneself) down, as in submission
-
to lay or throw down flat, as on the ground
-
to make helpless or defenceless
-
to make exhausted
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
prostratesimple
-
prostratessimple
-
have prostratedperfect
-
has prostratedperfect
-
am prostratingprogressive
-
are prostratingprogressive
-
is prostratingprogressive
-
have been prostratingperfect progressive
-
has been prostratingperfect progressive
Past
-
prostratedsimple
-
had prostratedperfect
-
was prostratingprogressive
-
were prostratingprogressive
-
had been prostratingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of prostrate
First recorded in 1350–1400; (for the adjective) Middle English prostrat, from Latin prōstrātus “lying flat,” past participle of prōsternere “to lie flat, knock down, overthrow,” from prō- pro- 1 + sternere “to lay out, stretch, spread”; verb derivative of the adjective
Explanation
The verb prostrate means to lie face-downward in submission or despair. More generally, it means to make helpless or defenseless. Illness, injury, grief, despair — any of these things can prostrate someone. The word prostrate traces back to the Latin word prostratus, meaning “thrown down.” If you are prostrate, you feel thrown down and laid flat. It can describe lying on the ground in a helpless position, or it can be used to describe someone who has been overcome or made unable to function, such as someone who is prostrated by grief or illness.
Vocabulary lists containing prostrate
The Lazy, Hazy Days of Summer
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Julius Caesar
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
The Call of the Wild
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
But as Argentine players lay prostrate on the pitch and Argentine fans lost their minds, they didn’t care that it wasn’t pretty.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 4, 2026
Department of Health and Human Services now requires consent for breast, pelvic, prostrate and rectal exams for “educational and training purposes” performed by medical students, nurse practitioners or physician assistants.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 1, 2024
Jefferson Davis lies prostrate at the Valentine, a downtown Richmond museum.
From New York Times ● Dec. 26, 2022
He has given speeches promoting cancer prostrate prevention, trying to warn others to be checked.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2022
The spell by which I had been so far supported began to dissolve; reaction took place, and soon, so overwhelming was the grief that seized me, I sank prostrate with my face to the ground.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
In her 1910 autobiography, she wrote of the Santa Ana wind that “its breath dries up the plants, gives headaches to people, and prostrates them … it uproots trees, tears off roofs, and devastates fields.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2021
I quite like this tableau, the mystic bard shuffling sadly on to a plane, foregoing his ancient principle of opposing a supertax, as his agent prostrates himself on the ground for his lost 700 grand.
From The Guardian ● Apr. 9, 2020
Fazal’s Karim smiles a lot, seems absolutely enchanted by English weather and, at their second meeting, without provocation, prostrates himself to kiss Victoria’s feet.
From Washington Times ● Sep. 25, 2017
The other prostrates himself, back bent, head lowered, with his right arm outstretched over clusters of bananas and other produce offered as homage to the allegorical queen.
From The New Yorker ● Sep. 24, 2016
And still further on, the well-attired gentleman prostrates himself with the ragged beggar in worshipping the same common and universal God!
From Eight days in New Orleans in February, 1847 by Pickett, Albert James
Some clasped their hands together, while others prostrated themselves.
From BBC ● Apr. 17, 2026
On the day after the February coup, General Min Aung Hlaing, the leader of the putsch, prostrated himself at the feet of a senior Buddhist abbot.
From New York Times ● Aug. 28, 2021
At another point of the ceremony, the nine lay prostrated on a carpet in front of the basilica’s central altar in a sign of obedience, humility and giving of oneself.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 25, 2021
Earlier on Friday, Francis prostrated himself on the floor of an empty St. Peter’s Basilica to pray at a “Passion of the Lord” service.
From Reuters ● Apr. 2, 2021
Great Ceremony of the Celebration of the Return to Egypt has begun!” she chanted, and all four Egyptians prostrated themselves before the egg crate and the birdbath.
From "The Egypt Game" by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
A few months before Khan was elected prime minister, local media carried photos of the couple prostrating at the Baba Farid shrine.
From Reuters ● May 16, 2023
But we must never underestimate a strain of masochism in some people, the desire to bow down to the mighty as if they were prostrating themselves before a deity.
From Salon ● Feb. 18, 2023
But it was his act of prostrating in prayer after goals that reverberated in the wider global consciousness, even among those who don't follow football.
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2022
The movie opens in 66 A.D., with the Jewish multitudes prostrating themselves in the courtyards of the temple atoning for their sins on Yom Kippur.
From New York Times ● Sep. 11, 2021
The seventh time around, I prayed two Rak’a, prostrating myself, my head on the floor.
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
