prototype

[ proh-tuh-tahyp ]
/ ˈproʊ təˌtaɪp /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR prototype ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the original or model on which something is based or formed.
someone or something that serves to illustrate the typical qualities of a class; model; exemplar: She is the prototype of a student activist.
something analogous to another thing of a later period: a Renaissance prototype of our modern public housing.
Biology. an archetype; a primitive form regarded as the basis of a group.

verb (used with object), pro·to·typed, pro·to·typ·ing.

to create the prototype or an experimental model of: to prototype a solar-power car.

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Origin of prototype

1595–1605; < New Latin prōtotypon < Greek prōtótypon, noun use of neuter of prōtótypos original. See proto-, type

OTHER WORDS FROM prototype

pro·to·typ·al, pro·to·typ·i·cal [proh-tuh-tip-i-kuhl] /ˌproʊ təˈtɪp ɪ kəl/, pro·to·typ·ic, adjectivepro·to·typ·i·cal·ly, adverb

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH prototype

archetype prototype

Words nearby prototype

protostele, protostome, prototherian, prototroph, prototrophic, prototype, protovertebra, protoxide, protoxylem, protozoa, protozoan
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to prototype

precursor, model, mock-up, predecessor, antecedent, ancestor, archetype, forerunner, standard, ideal, criterion, pattern, paradigm, type, precedent, norm, first, antecessor

Example sentences from the Web for prototype

British Dictionary definitions for prototype

prototype
/ (ˈprəʊtəˌtaɪp) /

noun

one of the first units manufactured of a product, which is tested so that the design can be changed if necessary before the product is manufactured commercially
a person or thing that serves as an example of a type
biology the ancestral or primitive form of a species or other group; an archetype

Derived forms of prototype

prototypal, prototypic (ˌprəʊtəˈtɪpɪk) or prototypical, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medical definitions for prototype

prototype
[ prō′tə-tīp′ ]

n.

A primitive or ancestral form or species.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.