prospect

American  

[pros-pekt] / ˈprɒs pɛkt /

noun

• prospects
  plural

1. Usually prospects

   1. an apparent probability of advancement, success, profit, etc.

   2. the outlook for the future.

      good business prospects.

2. anticipation; expectation; a looking forward.

3. something in view as a source of profit.

4. a potential or likely customer, client, etc.

5. a potential or likely candidate.

6. a view, especially of scenery; scene.

7. outlook or view over a region or in a particular direction.

8. a mental view or survey, as of a subject or situation.

   Synonyms:

   perspective

9. Mining.

   1. an apparent indication of ore or native metal.

   2. a place giving such indications.

   3. a mine working or excavation undertaken in a search for additional ore.

10. Archaic. sight; range of vision.

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verb (used with object)

• prospects,
  present (3rd person singular)
• prospected,
  past participle,  past
• prospecting
  present participle

1. to search or explore (a region), as for gold.

2. to work (a mine or claim) experimentally in order to test its value.

3. to make a careful survey of; examine or evaluate.

   Another local firm uses the same telemarketer to prospect the northern Brisbane market.

verb (used without object)

• prospects,
  present (3rd person singular)
• prospected,
  past participle,  past
• prospecting
  present participle

1. to search or explore a region for gold or the like.

2. to make a search; look for something.

   As a freelancer, you will be prospecting for clients.

idioms

1. in prospect, under consideration; expected; in view.

   He had no other alternative in prospect.

prospect British  

noun

1. (sometimes plural) a probability or chance for future success, esp as based on present work or aptitude

   a good job with prospects

2. a vision of the future; what is foreseen; expectation

   she was excited at the prospect of living in London

   unemployment presents a grim prospect

3. a view or scene, esp one offering an extended outlook

4. a prospective buyer, project, etc

5. a survey or observation

6. mining

   1. a known or likely deposit of ore

   2. the location of a deposit of ore

   3. a sample of ore for testing

   4. the yield of mineral obtained from a sample of ore

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verb

1. to explore (a region) for gold or other valuable minerals

2. (tr) to work (a mine) to discover its profitability

3. to search (for)

Usage

What does prospect mean? A prospect is a specific outlook for one’s future, usually leaning toward a positive outcome. It is often used in the plural, as in If Julie doesn’t improve her grades, her prospects for college will be slim. More generally, prospect is a looking forward or anticipation, as in With all this extra work, the prospect of going home early isn’t looking good. In business, prospect has several specific meanings. A prospect could be a source of profit, such as a new product. Prospect could also be a potential client or customer, as in The sales team is always looking for prospects to sell to. Or a prospect could be a potential employee, as in HR sent us several prospects for our job opening. To prospect means to search, often for something that will provide a positive outcome, like a job or a client. More specifically, prospect is used to mean to explore an area for gold or similar, as in The gold rush of 1849 led to a lot of prospecting in California. Example: I gave up all of my prospects in banking to chase my passion for photography.

Synonym Usage

See view.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonprospect
  noun
• prospector
  noun
• underprospect
  noun
• prospectless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• prospects
  plural

Participles

• prospecting
  present
• prospected
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• prospect
  simple
• prospects
  simple
• have prospected
  perfect
• has prospected
  perfect
• am prospecting
  progressive
• are prospecting
  progressive
• is prospecting
  progressive
• have been prospecting
  perfect progressive
• has been prospecting
  perfect progressive

Past

• prospected
  simple
• had prospected
  perfect
• was prospecting
  progressive
• were prospecting
  progressive
• had been prospecting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will prospect
  simple
• will have prospected
  perfect
• will be prospecting
  progressive
• will have been prospecting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of prospect

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English prospecte, from Latin prōspectus “outlook, view”; see prospectus

Explanation

A prospect is the possibility that something fabulous will happen. After you graduate top of your class at Harvard, for example, your job prospects look great. Prospect is from the Latin word prospectus which means a "view or outlook." A prospect is still a way of looking ahead and expecting good things. It's like potential in that it's something that might be but isn't yet. There is also the potential for something bad to happen, but prospects usually look good. In the 1800s, when men in floppy brown hats started saying "There's gold in them there hills!" the noun became a verb — to prospect is to search for gold. Either way, when you have prospects, you have a golden future.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

prospect prospects prospected prospecting

That is certainly a scary prospect for foes facing the No. 1 team in the state.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026

But Cardinale acknowledged layoffs would be part of the cost-cuts, a prospect that frightened many in Hollywood after endless waves of job cuts at the two companies.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026

“By my nature and profession I can’t resist a good story,” she writes, “and I saw death in the market square is a better prospect than my father-in-law is unwell.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

London Victims' Commissioner Andrea Simon said the exemptions "have not included some offenders whose imminent release is a genuinely terrifying prospect for their victims".

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

The prospect of reporting to the Navy made Elizebeth “very rebellious and gloomy.”

From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield

Skubal, who the Dodgers acquired from the Tigers for three prospects, has posted a 2.61 ERA in 10 starts for Los Angeles.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026

Investors will look for clues on the likely timing of a further rate increase, particularly after recent much weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs data dampened prospects of a follow-up rate hike on Oct.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

More than that, he helped establish a pathway for young British prospects to grow and develop abroad that many have followed since.

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

The pandemic also broadened the idea of what service-based businesses could be, potentially opening new moneymaking prospects, he noted.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 30, 2026

Despite their success, Hall and Ball were concerned about their long-term prospects in the professional climbing racket.

From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer

With little formal education, Mulholland had left his native Ireland in his teens, worked steamer ships on the Great Lakes, labored in lumber camps and prospected for gold.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

JOHANNESBURG—For years, hundreds of illegal miners known locally as zama zamas prospected for gold on this patch of land on the outskirts of the city with hammers and chisels in hand-dug tunnels.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 27, 2026

Small fragments of the specimen were "prospected" using ultraviolet lights at night.

From Salon ● Feb. 4, 2023

Bolsonaro’s father prospected for gold at Serra Pelada, where Dirceu first saw gold mining, and the president sometimes draws on his upbringing to rally support from prospectors.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 12, 2022

Curtis asked, referring to three men with whom he and Frisco had punched and prospected several years before.

From Hopalong Cassidy by Clarence E. Mulford

The city tries to keep its idiosyncratic businesses going while prospecting for newcomers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026

In January, the government proposed opening 70 new blocs to prospecting, more than half of them in the Arctic waters of the Barents Sea.

From Barron's ● Mar. 14, 2026

In a more modern twist, there’s also social-media gold: the biggest YouTube accounts devoted to prospecting boast more than half a million followers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2025

That money's up to over $100 million today, but the point is that with all of the negotiations, all that prospecting, the guy that was bussing the table had the most money in the room.

From Salon ● May 18, 2024

He comes at last to a settlement, or perhaps is found by other prospecting men.

From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck

Related Words

• anticipation
• chance
• expectation
• forecast
• future
• hope
• likelihood
• plan
• possibility
• probability
• promise
• proposal
• thought