prosper
Americanverb (used without object)
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prospers,
present (3rd person singular)
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prospered,
past participle, past
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prospering
present participle
verb (used with object)
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prospers,
present (3rd person singular)
-
prospered,
past participle, past
-
prospering
present participle
verb
Usage
What does prosper mean? Prosper means to be successful or fortunate, especially in a financial or material way. Prosper often implies success in terms of wealth, health, and happiness. But it can also be used broadly, much like the words succeed, thrive, and flourish. You can say that someone is prospering in the present, but the word is perhaps most commonly used in the context of what will happen in the future. Prosper is associated with its use in the phrase “live long and prosper,” the catchphrase of the character Spock in the Star Trek series of TV shows and movies. Someone who prospers can be described as prosperous. The noun prosperity refers to a state of success. Example: If we can continue to maintain this level of quality, our company will continue to prosper.
Synonym Usage
See succeed.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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prospersimple
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prosperssimple
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have prosperedperfect
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has prosperedperfect
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am prosperingprogressive
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are prosperingprogressive
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is prosperingprogressive
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have been prosperingperfect progressive
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has been prosperingperfect progressive
Past
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prosperedsimple
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had prosperedperfect
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was prosperingprogressive
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were prosperingprogressive
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had been prosperingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of prosper
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English prosperen, Old French prosperer, from Latin prosperāre “to make happy,” derivative of prosperus prosperous
Explanation
As any fan of Star Trek knows, “live long and prosper” is good advice. The verb prosper means to do well, succeed, or thrive. The verb prosper commonly means to generate wealth, as in “she hopes to prosper from her new investments.” But more generally it means “grow stronger” or "flourish" — crops will prosper when they have adequate sun and water, and rescued animals can prosper in a loving home. You can also prosper from good advice or a wise decision: for example, “cheaters never prosper” is one piece of advice that might help you prosper.
Vocabulary lists containing prosper
NAEP Test Words
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The Call of the Wild
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Donald Trump Inauguration Address- January 20, 2017
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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:
Shouldn’t a museum, of all places, be where complex dialogues about art and humanity can prosper?
From Salon ● Sep. 5, 2026
Leonard Nimoy as Mr Spock in Star Trek performs the Vulcan salute, which is usually accompanied with the words "live long and prosper"
From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026
“We can make it so they can prosper, but we prosper with them,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
O’Neill will be aware she can’t rely on oil and gas prices remaining high forever and will need to ensure the company can prosper when the backdrop isn’t as supportive, he adds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
Your arguments will tend to prosper if they are founded on the common assumptions of your audience—or, in special cases, if the audience is minded to defer to your authority.
From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith
Yet to our mind the remarkable news of this anniversary is that our free republic has stood for a quarter millennium and prospers still.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026
Tom Roebuck, another wing who prospers in the air, is only just back from a broken toe.
From BBC ● Feb. 23, 2026
Western analysts say the counteroffensive, even if it prospers, won’t end the war which started with Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
From Washington Times ● Jul. 4, 2023
Now the area prospers largely from the tourist trade.
From Seattle Times ● May 22, 2023
St Emilion is now secure under his patronage, and the convent prospers as a result of my commerce with the local merchants and farmers, so Mother Ermentrude and the bishop are pleased.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
Unyoked from racial prejudices and prohibitions, Eston’s progeny prospered.
From Salon ● Jul. 27, 2026
Gordon Peterson prospered as a real-estate developer in Kansas.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 1, 2026
There were busts as well as booms - oil has always been a volatile commodity - but on the whole Aberdeen prospered, with the Granite City acquiring a new nickname: Europe's oil capital.
From BBC ● Apr. 29, 2026
Countries that industrialized, prospered; those that failed to industrialize, floundered.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 23, 2026
For many, the only certainty was the stars, and the ancient astrological conceit prospered in the courtyards and taverns of fear-haunted Europe.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
Despite rising computer-memory costs and a tight supply chain that have been constraining phone sales, the company is prospering.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
Fundamentally superior stocks are prospering from a stunning earnings environment as well as a booming domestic economy.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 13, 2026
It was a more optimistic era; the generals could see their South East Asian neighbours prospering through trade with the Western world, and they wanted an end to crippling economic sanctions.
From BBC ● Jan. 14, 2026
I would love the corporate campaign painting Inglewood as Black and prospering on its own terms — an equal partner in this breakneck development — to be true.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 3, 2024
I have now concluded, sir,” said Joe, rising from his chair, “and, Pip, I wish you ever well and ever prospering to a greater and a greater height.”
From "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens
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.
