prostitution
Americannoun
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the act or practice of engaging in sex acts, as sexual intercourse, for money.
-
base or unworthy use, as of talent or ability.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of prostitution
First recorded in 1545–55; from Late Latin prōstitūtiōn- (stem of prōstitūtiō ); see prostitute, -ion
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.
Alisa Bernard, age 34, is a Survivor Advocacy Coordinator for the Organization for Prostitution Survivors where she created a mentoring series for survivors of commercial sexual exploitation.
From Seattle Times • Aug. 4, 2017
Prostitution researcher Karin Werkman thinks the whole project is questionable.
From The Guardian • May 16, 2017
Prostitution raises complex moral, social and legal issues that successive governments have shied away from confronting.
From BBC • Jun. 30, 2016
Prostitution and human trafficking will never be stamped out, and no legal approach to reducing the harm they cause will be perfect.
From Washington Post • Aug. 16, 2015
Die Prostitution, vol, i, pp. 385-6; for early references, Crusius, Untersuchungen zu den Mimiamben der Herondas, pp. 129-30.
From Studies in the Psychology of Sex, Volume 2 Sexual Inversion by Ellis, Havelock
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.
