prospecting

[pros-pek-ting]

noun

1. the activity of searching for valuable natural resources, as gold or oil.

   Foreign energy companies continue to explore for offshore oil, even though international agencies say the prospecting violates international law.

2. the activity of searching for something, especially prospective or likely customers, clients, etc..

   Calling expired listings, knocking on doors to introduce yourself, and placing cold calls from lists of names all come under the umbrella of prospecting.

adjective

1. of or relating to the activity of searching for valuable natural resources.

   The mine has two shafts 600 feet apart: a prospecting shaft over 150 feet deep, and a double compartment shaft over which hoisting machinery is to be placed.

   Following a stint as a prospecting geologist in northern Ontario, he enrolled in a PhD program in the UK.

2. of or relating to the activity of searching for something, especially prospective or likely customers, clients, etc..

   The number of days between initial contact and a deal’s closing date is used to calculate the average number of days in the prospecting cycle.

Word History and Origins

Origin of prospecting¹

First recorded in 1845–50; prospect ( def. ) + -ing ¹ ( def. ) for the noun senses; prospect ( def. ) + -ing ² ( def. ) for the adjective senses

Example Sentences

Though “mine” implies tunnels, the prospecting at La Ciénega took place over a vast area — about 14,000 acres — largely near the surface.

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The rise in clicks on his posts -- and the related increase in commissions he makes on sales of products he uses in his prospecting -- has generated a new income source for James.

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But with gold prices reaching record highs, he’s taken up a new one: prospecting.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The stupendous floods of 1938 — floods so profound that they marooned movie stars on their San Fernando Valley ranches and delayed the Oscars by three days — sent whole prospecting families hustling back down the mountains.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Fergusson has been prospecting as a hobby for about a decade, and finally bought his own claim after searching around for five years.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• drilling