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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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)
noun
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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
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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
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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
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have been promptingperfect progressive
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has been promptingperfect progressive
Past
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promptedsimple
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had promptedperfect
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was promptingprogressive
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were promptingprogressive
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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:
BBC Sport understands there have to be "exceptional circumstances" to justify the effort and that, in these cases, time might have been of the essence with a need for prompt testing.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
Each Friday, Letterboxd posts a prompt on its X account asking users to reply with their last four films logged on the platform.
From Salon ● Jul. 15, 2026
If mortgage rates go down significantly, that could prompt more buying and accelerate price growth.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026
Others prompt their chatbots to produce ultralow-calorie meal plans or excessive fitness routines.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 2026
Instructions always very clear and payment prompt, but it was odd, all the same.
From "And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie
—European stock indexes gained as the sharp fall in oil prices prompts gains across all sectors except energy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
Users on Udio can type prompts describing the type of song they wish to create.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
This includes tracks generated "entirely" from AI prompts, as well as lead vocals and "key" instrumental tracks that are AI-generated, according to the statement.
From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026
In a blog post, external covering the new announcement, Meta said the tool uses "advanced reasoning to understand complex prompts, seamlessly blending multiple photos into high-quality creations you can download and share anywhere".
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026
And she’d say, “Please stick to the prompts or I will have to give you an incomplete grade.”
From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri
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
Diesel even mocked the script rolling across the prompter that Universal had put together for the actor to read about the movie.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 28, 2023
At one point I thought the prompter was wrong and it wasn’t.
From New York Times ● Apr. 8, 2022
In the method of nature, there is always some prompter, called a desire, answering to each of the actions which it is requisite for us to perform.
From A Review of the Systems of Ethics Founded on the Theory of Evolution by Williams, C. M.
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
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
The day Yastrzemski steps out, museum curators will mark him for promptest delivery.
From Time Magazine Archive
These poisons, of course, go all over the body, wherever the circulation goes, but they produce their promptest and loudest pain outcry, so to speak, in the region where the nerves are most exquisitely sensitive.
From Preventable Diseases by Hutchinson, Woods
The sullen Osborne reluctantly says, "I must confess he was the promptest man living in detecting an imposture."
From Literary Character of Men of Genius Drawn from Their Own Feelings and Confessions by Disraeli, Isaac
Fears over the scale of artificial-intelligence spending and competition from China prompted a fresh tumble in U.S. chip stocks Monday, which bled into Asian markets Tuesday.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
The growing popularity of e-bikes prompted a Los Angeles City Council panel in April to propose banning e-bikes from local trails.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
The death of Sulemana Abdul Samed, Ghana's tallest man, has prompted an outpouring of grief especially in the north of the country where his height had made him a local celebrity.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
Local outlets say mosques have been receiving abusive phone calls and emails, some of which has prompted anti-hate groups to organise counter protests calling for no hate.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
Briony was to have no memory of what suddenly prompted her.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
Instead, they primarily control the disease by helping tissues absorb more glucose or prompting the pancreas to release more insulin.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 28, 2026
Still, the heat is expected to again increase Friday through Sunday, prompting more advisories later this week, Lewis said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
Asian equities largely fell as they caught up with the selloff in U.S. trading, with Alphabet and Tesla’s earnings prompting selling across technology stocks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
Ghost had an allergic reaction to the cold water, prompting the pair to return to the producer's luxury apartment that she rented.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
Ekon needed no further prompting as he and Koffi stepped around Anatsou and between the trees.
From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray
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.
