prong

American  

[prawng, prong] / prɔŋ, prɒŋ /

noun

prongs plural

1. one of the pointed tines of a fork.

2. any pointed, projecting part, as of an antler.

   Synonyms:

   spur, tooth, hook

3. a branch of a stream.

4. Jewelry. a tapering metal projection, usually heavier than a claw, rising from the base of a jewelry setting and used to hold a stone in position as needed.

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verb (used with object)

prongs, present (3rd person singular) pronged, past participle, past pronging present participle

1. to pierce or stab with or as if with a prong.

2. to supply with prongs.

prong British  

/ prɒŋ /

noun

1. a sharply pointed end of an instrument, such as on a fork

2. any pointed projecting part

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verb

1. (tr) to prick or spear with or as if with a prong

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• pronged
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• prongs
  plural

Participles

• pronging
  present
• pronged
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• prong
  simple
• prongs
  simple
• have pronged
  perfect
• has pronged
  perfect
• am pronging
  progressive
• are pronging
  progressive
• is pronging
  progressive
• have been pronging
  perfect progressive
• has been pronging
  perfect progressive

Past

• pronged
  simple
• had pronged
  perfect
• was pronging
  progressive
• were pronging
  progressive
• had been pronging
  perfect progressive

Future

• will prong
  simple
• will have pronged
  perfect
• will be pronging
  progressive
• will have been pronging
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of prong

1400–50; late Middle English pronge, prange pain, affliction, pointed instrument; akin to Old Swedish prang gorge, narrow street, Middle Low German prange stake, prangen to press, Gothic anaprangan to oppress

Explanation

A prong, like a spike, a tine, or a spoke, is something that sticks out and is pointy. The prongs of your fork are useful for spearing food and delivering it to your mouth. Besides forks, many other objects have prongs, from hoes and rakes to electrical plugs to an animal's horns or antlers (in fact there's a specific group of antelopes commonly called pronghorns). Before it was spelled prong, the word was prange, "pointed instrument," from the Anglo-Latin pronga, "pointed tool," and possibly the Germanic prange, "stick."

Example Sentences

The second prong is to clarify that these products can serve as a default investment option.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 26, 2026

Close to 60 defendants have been convicted, and federal prosecutors last week charged the 78th person in a prong of the cases that authorities called “the largest Covid-19 fraud scheme in the country.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 5, 2025

And that comes to the second prong of the agreement: rejecting certain credit cards.

From Barron's • Nov. 10, 2025

This brings us to the next behavioral prong of CBT-I: changing your habits for getting in and out of bed.

From Slate • Jul. 19, 2025

One prong of it became the Polynesians, who populated the most remote islands of the Pacific and were the greatest seafarers among Neolithic peoples.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond