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• prophet
  prophet

  noun

  a person who speaks for God or a deity, or by divine inspiration.
• Prophet
  Prophet

  noun

  the principal designation of Mohammed as the founder of Islam

prophet

American  

[prof-it] / ˈprɒf ɪt /

noun

• prophets
  plural

1. a person who speaks for God or a deity, or by divine inspiration.

2. (in the Old Testament)

   1. a person chosen to speak for God and to guide the people of Israel.

      Moses was the greatest of Old Testament prophets.

   2. (often initial capital letter) one of the Major or Minor Prophets.

   3. one of a band of ecstatic visionaries claiming divine inspiration and, according to popular belief, possessing magical powers.

   4. a person who practices divination.

3. one of a class of persons in the early church, next in order after the apostles, recognized as inspired to utter special revelations and predictions. 1 Corinthians 12:28.

4. the Prophet, Muhammad, the founder of Islam.

5. a person regarded as, or claiming to be, an inspired teacher or leader.

6. a person who foretells or predicts what is to come.

   a weather prophet; prophets of doom.

7. a spokesperson of some doctrine, cause, or movement.

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Prophet ¹ British  

/ ˈprɒfɪt /

noun

1. the principal designation of Mohammed as the founder of Islam

2. a name for Joseph Smith as founder of the Mormon Church

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prophet ² British  

/ ˈprɒfɪt /

noun

1. a person who supposedly speaks by divine inspiration, esp one through whom a divinity expresses his will

2. a person who predicts the future

   a prophet of doom

3. a spokesman for a movement, doctrine, etc

4. Christian Science

   1. a seer in spiritual matters

   2. the vanishing of material sense to give way to the conscious facts of spiritual truth

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prophet Cultural  

1. Someone who brings a message from God to people. The best-known prophets are those of the Old Testament. Their most frequent themes were true worship of God, upright living, and the coming of the Messiah. They often met with bitter resistance when they spoke against the idol worship and immorality of their people. Among the prophets of the Old Testament were Daniel, Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Jonah, and Moses. Prophets also appear in the New Testament. Jesus called John the Baptist a prophet; Christians (see also Christian) consider him a bridge between the prophets of the Old Testament and those of the New Testament. Jesus mentions “true prophets” and “false prophets” — those who present the true message of God and those who present a counterfeit (see By their fruits ye shall know them and wolves in sheep's clothing). He himself was considered a prophet in his lifetime (see A prophet is not without honor save in his own country) and is still widely revered by non-Christians as a prophet, though not as the Messiah. The New Testament also mentions that some of the early Christians were prophets who spoke inspired messages to their communities.

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Discover More

In general usage, a “prophet” is someone who can foretell the future. The prophets of the Bible (see also Bible) often made predictions, which confirmed their authority when the predictions came true, but changing the lives of their people was a more central part of their mission.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• prophetess
  noun
• prophethood
  noun
• prophet-like
  adjective
• prophetless
  adjective
• prophetlike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• prophets
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of prophet

First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English prophete, from Late Latin prophēta, from Greek prophḗtēs, equivalent to pro- “before (in time, place, precedence, dignity)” + -phētēs “speaker,” derivative of phánai “to speak”; see also pro- ²

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Explanation

By the time you finish reading this definition, you will understand what a prophet is. How do I know? Perhaps I am a prophet, someone who can predict the future. Or maybe it’s just a guess. The future is a foggy mystery, but a prophet sees beyond that fog to speak about what’s to come. A fortune teller is a prophet, and so is a savvy computer designer who knows how technology will change in ten years. Prophet comes from the Greek word for “spokesman,” which explains another definition of prophet: someone who speaks on behalf of God. Prophet is pronounced the same as profit, and some prophets use their talents to earn lots of profit.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

prophet Prophet prophets

The series’ dark prophet, he gives it its title.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026

You can almost track the evolution of digital advertising by job titles, from the “heads of interactive advertising” and “e-marketing specialists,” through the digital prophet era to the engineers of today.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

During Eid al-Adha, observers honor the sacrifice of the prophet Abraham and prepare halal meat to share with family, friends and those in need.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026

As he poured the traditional cup of wine for the prophet, Rabbi Aft reminded his community that Elijah wanders the earth disguised as a stranger, testing humanity’s capacity for hospitality, compassion and kindness.

From Salon ● Jun. 1, 2026

“Don’t you know the weather prophet has told us we shall see the sun pretty soonr “Well, that ought to be reason enough,” he acquiesced.

From "The Awakening" by Kate Chopin

The King was introduced to Prophet Guillory, Apple Music's head of artist services, tools and community, who was praised for his work as a mentor for young people.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

Against one of the worst teams in the Big Ten, USC’s high-powered offense and a clutch pick-6 from cornerback Prophet Brown were enough to survive the defense’s late-down struggles for a fourth consecutive win.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026

The Houthis, predominantly Shia Muslims, and al-Shabaab, which adheres to Sunni Islam, are among the hundreds of millions divided by a seventh-century schism over who was the rightful successor to the Prophet Muhammad.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026

Arbaeen, which means forty in Arabic, marks the 40th day of mourning for the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, the grandson of Prophet Mohammed and a founding figure in Shia Islam.

From Barron's ● Aug. 1, 2026

I couldn’t believe it when Dad won the Daily Prophet Draw.

From "Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban" by J.K. Rowling

“Certain lyrics made people talk like we had written them about 9/11, but there’s no way they could have been about 9/11 unless we were prophets of some kind,” Malakian said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026

"I hear, here and there, the prophets of doom predicting the worst," said Finance Minister Roland Lescure regarding France's ability to service its debt.

From Barron's ● Oct. 1, 2026

“All Jews celebrate the Jews of Iran every year,” and biblical prophets are buried there, Gerami said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026

Indeed, in both cases, followers of the dead prophets are constantly finding new meaning in old prophecies.

From Salon ● Apr. 4, 2026

They don’t know that Muslims recognize Moses, Abraham, and Jesus as prophets.

From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad

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