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prototype

[ proh-tuh-tahyp ]
/ ˈproʊ təˌtaɪp /
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See synonyms for: prototype / prototypes on Thesaurus.com

Definition of prototype

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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On the farm, the feed for chicks is significantly different from the roosters’; ______ not even comparable.

Origin of prototype

First recorded in 1595–1605; from New Latin prōtotypon, from Greek prōtótypon, noun use of neuter of prōtótypos “original”; see proto-, type

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/, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH prototype

archetype, prototype
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

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, 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
[ prōtə-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.
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