prototype
[ proh-tuh-tahyp ]
/ ˈproʊ təˌtaɪp /
Save This Word!
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.
QUIZZES
THINK YOU’VE GOT A HANDLE ON THIS US STATE NICKNAME QUIZ?
Did you ever collect all those state quarters? Put them to good use on this quiz about curious state monikers and the facts around them.
Question 1 of 8
Mississippi’s nickname comes from the magnificent trees that grow there. What is it?
Origin of prototype
OTHER WORDS FROM prototype
pro·to·typ·i·cal [proh-tuh-tip-i-kuhl]; /ˌproʊ təˈtɪp ɪ kəl/; pro·to·typ·ic, pro·to·typ·al [proh-tuh-tip-uhl], /ˌproʊ təˈtɪp əl/, adjectiveWORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH prototype
archetype, prototypeWords nearby prototype
protostome, Proto team, prototherian, prototroph, prototrophic, prototype, prototypical, protovertebra, protoxide, protoxylem, Protozoa
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
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, adjectiveCollins 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.