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
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prompts
plural
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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
-
are promptingprogressive
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is promptingprogressive
-
have been promptingperfect progressive
-
has been promptingperfect progressive
Past
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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:
It is unclear what, if anything, could prompt these nations to agree to an offensive mission against the Houthis, particularly as the militants continue to threaten shipping in the Red Sea.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026
According to eMarketer estimates, slightly more than half of U.S. internet users prompt an AI tool for a response at least once a month.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 3, 2026
“And that’s become really valuable in a world where you can prompt two sentences and get a result that looks OK, looks good enough.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026
Anthropic's Claude Opus 5.5 refused to use the prompt, saying "I won't edit this one, she's a real identifiable person, and erasing her scarring changes her identity without her consent".
From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026
“Three hundred, and a present at that,” was the prompt reply of the man in the red sweater.
From "The Call of the Wild" by Jack London
Students were shown starter prompts tied to their specific class and assignment, offering guided help or study guides, practice quizzes and flashcards built from their course materials.
From Barron's ● Nov. 4, 2026
Days later, it said Buckmaster's Codex prompts from the two months before the announcement "could not have influenced the system in any way".
From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026
Coming up with prompts could be easy some days—“Explain this at a sixth-grade level”— or more tedious when it came to teaching AI about, say, technical specifications.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026
By raising borrowing costs, central bankers hope to minimize what they refer to as “second-round effects,” or a pickup in wages that prompts businesses to raise prices as they seek to preserve profit margins.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
"And what did you say?" prompts Caesar gently.
From "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins
It produced for one prompter a schematic of a jet engine.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
The prompter is his devoted executive officer, Maj.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 31, 2024
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
Ellen herself could not have explained or told herself that so she felt; and yet, notwithstanding, all we have written was there, and was the real prompter of that almost passionate embrace.
From Home Influence A Tale for Mothers and Daughters by Grace Aguilar
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 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
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 Isaac Disraeli
I didn’t do it for that reason, but if you like to leave the disposal of those beasts to Ross & Grant, highest-class salesmen, promptest settlements, etc.,
From Lorimer of the Northwest by Alfred James Dewey
Silicon Valley Bank collapsed in March 2023 following a $42 billion bank run that prompted regulators to step in and close the bank.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026
Those results prompted an important question: Could rapamycin produce similar benefits in people who have a genetic predisposition to Alzheimer's but have not yet developed the disease?
From Science Daily ● Nov. 6, 2026
Relatively high fixed rates have prompted some people to consider choosing trackers, in the hope that the rate would be lower, even if the Bank rate rises in the coming months.
From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026
All of which prompted BC Partners to pull the plug.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2026
“What are you waiting for?” the god prompted.
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
The freezer attacks followed a similar incident in mid-October, when a hack disrupted the refrigeration systems of some 700 French supermarkets, prompting a probe by France’s cyber authorities.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026
But they lost in lower courts, prompting the appeal to the nation's highest court.
From Barron's ● Nov. 3, 2026
A massive, expanding sinkhole opened up just outside Cage’s home on Sea Level Drive on Sept. 8, prompting Malibu to declare a local emergency and issue evacuation orders for 31 homes in the beachside community.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2026
Journalists "poisoned the well of justice" by prompting complainants to come forward and make criminal allegations against Brand, jurors have heard.
From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026
This time, at his prompting, I stood inside.
From "Black Star, Bright Dawn" by Scott O'Dell
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
