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• pro
  pro

  adverb

  in favor of a proposition, opinion, etc.
• Pro
  Pro

  abbreviation

  proline.
• PRO
  PRO

  public relations officer.
• pro-
  pro-

  a prefix indicating favor for some party, system, idea, etc., without identity with the group (pro-British; pro-Communist; proslavery ), having anti- as its opposite.

pro

¹ American  

[proh] / proʊ /

adverb

1. in favor of a proposition, opinion, etc.

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noun

• pros
  plural

1. a proponent of an issue; a person who upholds the affirmative in a debate.

2. an argument, consideration, vote, etc., for something.

pro ² American  

[proh] / proʊ /

adjective

1. professional.

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noun

• pros
  plural

1. a professional.

2. the pros, the professional athletic leagues, as of football, baseball, or basketball.

   He's sure to be signed by the pros.

pro ³ American  

[proh] / proʊ /

noun

Slang.

• pros
  plural

1. prophylactic.

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pro ⁴ American  

[proh] / proʊ /

preposition

Latin.

1. for.

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Pro ⁵ American  

abbreviation

Biochemistry.

1. proline.

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PRO ⁶ American  

Or P.R.O.

1. public relations officer.

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pro- ⁷ American  

1. a prefix indicating favor for some party, system, idea, etc., without identity with the group (pro-British; pro-Communist; proslavery ), having anti- as its opposite.

2. a prefix of priority in space or time having especially a meaning of advancing or projecting forward or outward, and also used to indicate substitution, attached widely to stems not used as words.

   provision; prologue; proceed; produce; protract; procathedral; proconsul.

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pro- ⁸ American  

1. a prefix identical in meaning with pro-1 , occurring in words borrowed from Greek (prodrome ) or formed of Greek (and occasionally Latin) elements.

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pro ¹ British  

/ prəʊ /

adverb

1. in favour of a motion, issue, course of action, etc Compare anti

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preposition

1. in favour of

noun

1. (usually plural) an argument or vote in favour of a proposal or motion See also pros and cons

2. (usually plural) a person who votes in favour of a proposal, motion, etc

pro ² British  

/ prəʊ /

noun

1. informal short for professional

2. slang a prostitute

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abbreviation

1. professional practitioner

adjective

1. informal short for professional

PRO ³ British  

abbreviation

1. Public Records Office

2. public relations officer

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pro- ⁴ British  

prefix

1. in favour of; supporting

   pro-Chinese

2. acting as a substitute for

   proconsul

   pronoun

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pro- ⁵ British  

prefix

1. before in time or position; anterior; forward

   prophase

   procephalic

   prognathous

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• pros
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of pro¹

First recorded in 1400–50; Middle English, from Latin prō (preposition) “in favor of, on behalf of,” akin to Greek pró, Sanskrit pra; see also for, per ( def. )

Origin of pro²

First recorded in 1840–50; by shortening

Origin of pro³

First recorded in 1945–50; by shortening

Origin of pro-⁷

< Latin prō-, pro-, combining form representing prō pro ¹

Origin of pro-⁸

< Greek, combining form of pró for, before; see pro ¹

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Explanation

Pro is a Latin root word meaning for. If you make a list of pros and cons, you are listing the reasons for doing something and the reasons not to, respectively. Pro is also the shortened form of the word "professional," often referring to professional sports. If your cousin plays college basketball — and he's really good — he'll have to decide if he is going to turn pro or finish college first. The shortened form isn't always about sports, however. You might handle your little sister's bicycle accident like a pro, cleaning her up, sticking bandages on her knees, and handing her a lollipop.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pro Pro PRO pro- pros

But we then found another pro who said she’d do it.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026

The video featured one of the team’s players, Erik Ostberg, recreating a dance performed by Rodriguez and pro partner Witney Carson earlier in the “DWTS” season.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026

“He’s actually more suited to the pro game than the amateurs with the aluminum bats,” Fontaine told The Times after the draft.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2026

The chance of a pro career is even more remote, with only about 5% of college players at any level making the draft.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026

The most logical explanation is that the wrestlers made a quid pro quo agreement: you let me win today, when I really need the victory, and I’ll let you win the next time.

From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt

Apple’s foldable costs at least $100 more at each level of storage capacity than both Google’s Pixel 11 Pro Fold and Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold8.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026

She hired Michael Wellen as chief curator and Regan Pro into a newly created position as chief of learning, engagement and research.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026

A sleeping giant must have experienced some element of former glory and Pro Vercelli are the obvious candidate there, winning seven Italian titles by 1922.

From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026

It is unclear which suppliers Apple reportedly specifically spoke to but Tata Electronics is a major manufacturer of the iPhone 18 Pro, while Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company and Qualcomm also supply the company with chips.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2026

When I leave this place, I shall make my way to that fastness, and, God willing, shall there be reunited with several of my Regiment, Pro Bono and Nsia Williams first among them.

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson

Every RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell carries 96 gigabytes of high-speed memory, leaving it exposed to the industrywide memory shortage.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 3, 2026

The RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell is a useful measuring stick, since it’s sold both to the cloud providers and the companies that would otherwise rent from them.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 3, 2026

The labor-affiliated Economic Policy Institute also offered encouraging words, citing Chavez-DeRemer’s support for the PRO Act and the Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act, which would protect organizing and collective bargaining rights for government employees.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 4, 2024

Maybe the closest antecedent is a new, $85 million HUD program called “Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing,” or PRO Housing, which this summer issued 17 grants of a few million dollars each.

From Slate ● Sep. 24, 2024

It consists of many Confederations, and out of each, PRO and CONTRA, spring many.

From History of Friedrich II of Prussia — Volume 21 by Thomas Carlyle

Calling both pro- and anti-ICE beliefs “deeply American sentiments,” he asked viewers to “find a way to live with people who are genuinely different from us” and to “make things better and keep things decent.”

From Salon ● Jan. 10, 2026

His reactions to the sometimes outrageous comments of his interview subjects, be they pro- or anti-wolf, are sphinx-like; he treats everyone with respect, even when they seem to be going for a soundbite.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 16, 2025

Kennedy said the change would improve public trust by ensuring members of the committee didn’t have “any specific pro- or anti-vaccine agenda.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2025

The scientists identified the specific groups of neurons in the vagus nerve and in the cNST that help detect and control pro- and anti-inflammatory activity.

From Science Daily ● May 1, 2024

They could see the pro- ' cessional clerics busy about the decencies of death, and the twinkling knights standing motionless, and the people’s heads, like baskets of coconuts, round the outside of the square.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

It has been a disastrous and unfamiliar start for Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh, who before this season had never lost his first two games, either in college or the pros.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2026

He said some clients are training for the pros while others are just trying to make the junior varsity squad.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026

"So there are clearly options that need to be considered, and we have to look at what is doable, and what would be the pros and cons of each," he added.

From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026

"So there are clearly options that need to be considered, and we have to look at what is doable and what would be the pros and cons of each," he added.

From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026

Alas, one of the pros backstage has taken pity and slipped Bucci a spare part, so my moment as a hero is brief.

From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove

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