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prototype
[ proh-tuh-tahyp ]
/ ˈproʊ təˌtaɪp /
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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.
QUIZ
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Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.
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In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…
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, protoxide, protoxylem, Protozoa, protozoan
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use prototype in a sentence
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
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