prospector
Britishnoun
Explanation
A prospector is someone looking for mineral deposits. Prospectors are usually after gold. A prospector is a type of explorer, but one with a specific purpose: prospectors are after mineral deposits. Mineral deposits are found in the ground, so prospectors will commonly be looking down. They also use various tools—such as axes and metal detectors—to find the minerals they're after. Since gold is the most valuable mineral, it's long been the number one priority of prospectors. A prospector who finds gold could become rich.
Vocabulary lists containing prospector
Gold Rush: Mining and Metals
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
In A Sedimental Mood: Rock and Gem Vocabulary
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Stargirl
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
Picking individual gold or silver miners is like betting on which prospector will find the nugget.
From MarketWatch • Dec. 19, 2025
"People would go in as a prospector, to flip bottles for two to three times the value."
From BBC • Aug. 9, 2025
Years later, the Azusa Herald quoted an old codger of a prospector — aren’t they all codgers? — that the Eldoradoville inundation “never stopped until it brought up in San Pedro Harbor.”
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 11, 2025
“A commentary on the expulsion of the Greek banks from Egypt in 1961,” reads one note beneath the image of a gold prospector tunneling into a bank.
From Salon • Jan. 16, 2024
Perhaps the aging prospector understood the futility of trying to contain a torrential boy within the confines of a small town.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
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.
