prompt
Americanadjective
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done, performed, delivered, etc., at once or without delay.
I emailed them asking about my package and they gave a prompt reply.
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ready in action; quick to act as occasion demands.
They were trained to be prompt and competent for any emergency.
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quick or alert.
You're too prompt to take offense.
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She's never prompt in arriving for work, yet she's always the first to leave at the end of the day.
verb (used with object)
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prompts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
prompted,
past participle, past
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prompting
present participle
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to move or induce to action.
What prompted you to say that?
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to occasion or incite; inspire.
What prompted his resignation?
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to assist (a person speaking) by suggesting something to be said.
It's obvious that this witness has been prompted into giving false testimony.
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Theater. to supply (an actor, singer, etc.) from offstage with a missed cue or forgotten line.
I focused on prompting our Cyrano, who had become strangely disoriented.
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Computers. (of a computer system) to send a message or symbol to (a user) requesting information or instructions, usually by displaying the message or symbol on a screen.
Once the home page has loaded, the computer will prompt you to log in to your account.
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Computers, Digital Technology. to request particular output from (a machine learning algorithm) by means of instructions, questions, examples, context, or other input.
verb (used without object)
-
prompts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
prompted,
past participle, past
-
prompting
present participle
noun
-
prompts
plural
-
the act of prompting.
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something serving to suggest or remind.
They send an email once a month, which is just the prompt I need to pay my bill on time.
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Commerce.
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a limit of time given for payment for merchandise purchased, the limit being stated on a note of reminder prompt note.
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the contract setting the time limit.
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Computers. a message or symbol from a computer system to a user, generally appearing on a display screen, requesting more information or indicating that the system is ready for user instructions.
When the prompt appears, provide your access code.
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Computers, Digital Technology. a sequence of inputs, often containing instructions, questions, examples, or context, used to request particular output from a machine learning algorithm.
idioms
adjective
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performed or executed without delay
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quick or ready to act or respond
adverb
verb
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(tr) to urge (someone to do something)
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to remind (an actor, singer, etc) of lines forgotten during a performance
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(tr) to refresh the memory of
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(tr) to give rise to by suggestion
his affairs will prompt discussion
noun
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commerce
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the time limit allowed for payment of the debt incurred by purchasing goods or services on credit
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the contract specifying this time limit
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Also called: prompt note. a memorandum sent to a purchaser to remind him of the time limit and the sum due
-
-
the act of prompting
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anything that serves to remind
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an aid to the operator of a computer in the form of a question or statement that appears on the screen showing that the equipment is ready to proceed and indicating the options available
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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promptsimple
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promptssimple
-
have promptedperfect
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has promptedperfect
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am promptingprogressive
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are promptingprogressive
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is promptingprogressive
-
have been promptingperfect progressive
-
has been promptingperfect progressive
Past
-
promptedsimple
-
had promptedperfect
-
was promptingprogressive
-
were promptingprogressive
-
had been promptingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of prompt
First recorded in 1400–50; Middle English prompte “ready, eager” (adjective), prompten (verb), both ultimately from Latin promptus “manifest, at hand, ready, quick, prepared,” adjective use of past participle of prōmere “to bring forth, deliver, set forth,” from prō- pro- 1 + (e)mere “to buy, obtain, take”
Explanation
If you're prompt, you're on time. Go ahead and be prompt to class. Also, to prompt is to inspire or make happen. Getting in trouble for being late should prompt you to get a better alarm clock. The adjective prompt can mean "as scheduled," or simply "quick." When you prompt someone, you motivate them in some way: you might offer a reminder, assistance, or even inspiration to do something. For example, honking your car horn prompts your friend to get moving, and speaking up in defense of your classmate might prompt a bully to change his ways. If a director prompts an actor who's forgotten his lines, she reminds him what comes next.
Vocabulary lists containing prompt
Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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Essential English Vocabulary, List 1
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"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, Chapters 20–25
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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:
The fire did prompt two shelter-in-place orders when the fire reached an ammonia line, but Los Angeles Fire Department officials and Lineage say no ammonia was detected.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
"Major rainfall flooding may prompt many evacuations and rescues," the NWS said, adding that rivers and tributaries "may rapidly overflow their banks in multiple places".
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
Pope Leo XIV was "deeply saddened" and "raises his prayers to the Lord for the prompt recovery of those affected by this tragedy," the Vatican said Tuesday.
From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026
The software also sends reminder emails and phone alerts to prompt people to keep up with categorizing transactions that are automatically pulled in or inputting new ones manually.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026
I hope they prompt you to do something, to tell someone.
From "Between Shades of Gray" by Ruta Sepetys
Wiener’s campaign said the chatbot was created with “strict guardrails” and designed to ignore controversial and malicious prompts and pivot back to Chan’s policy record.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
That’s part of why he skips AI prompts to learn for himself.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026
Palantir’s partners are seeking control over their data, prompts, and business intelligence that “the language labs are not only ready and willing, but structurally designed to capture from their customers,” Karp writes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
AI agents -- systems that act autonomously to complete tasks rather than just responding to step-by-step prompts in a chatbot -- are hailed across the industry as the next chapter in AI.
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
I pressed zero and followed the prompts, first dialing Marcus’s number, then speaking my name into the receiver, and, finally, waiting.
From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson
To keep that rhythm, the prompter has to talk over the other actor’s lines.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 18, 2026
Those accounts accused Harris of making use of the prompter to answer questions from the audience, asked in English and Spanish, causing Univision producers to set the record straight late Thursday night.
From Salon ● Oct. 11, 2024
I'd like to see how she performs more off the cuff and without an ability to read from the prompter.
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2024
He would read anything that was on the prompter, and he delivered the jokes really well.
From New York Times ● Jul. 21, 2021
"Mrs. Castleman—Miss Marvin," said the prompter, seeing them; "now we are all ready."
From Vignettes of Manhattan; Outlines in Local Color by Brander Matthews
The day Yastrzemski steps out, museum curators will mark him for promptest delivery.
From Time Magazine Archive
The Federal Reserve Board's first credit-easing step, in May 1953, "was the promptest response to an economic decline ever taken by a central bank in any country."
From Time Magazine Archive
Needed: "Additional and improved bombers, airborne alert, more missiles of existing types, speeded production of Polaris submarines, the promptest possible dispersal and hardening of bases, and a program for civil defense."
From Time Magazine Archive
I expressed the promptest credence, and she went on.
From Four Meetings by Henry James
In politics Mr. Brady was a Democrat of the States-Rights school, yet he always maintained that it was the duty of the citizen to render the promptest obedience to the General Government.
From Great Fortunes, and How They Were Made by James Dabney McCabe
Those stories prompted multiple NFL and congressional investigations and culminated in Snyder selling the team.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
The video has since prompted outrage from neighbors and an investigation by postal officials and animal welfare authorities.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
This prompted David Cameron, whose Conservatives increased their number of seats, to boast: "Britain and Twitter are not the same thing."
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
It is unclear when the suspension came into place or exactly what prompted it, with the UAE only citing "regional escalations".
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
“So you got people to come together and share what they had,” Maria prompted her.
From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz
McGraw later launched Envoy Media, prompting accusations the bankruptcy was filed in bad faith specifically to escape creditors and fund his new venture, which he denied.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
The 2007–2009 recession supercharged the trend by draining tax revenues and prompting stimulus programs, as did the Covid-19 pandemic.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
But the coordinated attacks also underscored the vulnerability of the United States’ water facilities, prompting some obvious questions as to what the federal government has been doing, is presently doing, and perhaps should be doing.
From Slate ● Aug. 19, 2026
The entire area has been blanketed by a thick plume of yellowish smoke, prompting the partial evacuation of two villages close by.
From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026
Jonah couldn’t tell if she really understood or if she was just prompting Angela.
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
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.
