prototype

American  

[proh-tuh-tahyp] / ˈproʊ təˌtaɪp /

noun

1. the original or model on which something is based or formed.

   Synonyms:

   pattern

2. someone or something that serves to illustrate the typical qualities of a class; model; exemplar.

   She is the prototype of a student activist.

3. something analogous to another thing of a later period.

   a Renaissance prototype of our modern public housing.

4. Biology. an archetype; a primitive form regarded as the basis of a group.

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verb (used with object)

prototyped, prototyping

1. to create the prototype or an experimental model of.

   to prototype a solar-power car.

prototype British  

/ ˌprəʊtəˈtɪpɪk, ˈprəʊtəˌtaɪp /

noun

1. 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

2. a person or thing that serves as an example of a type

3. biology the ancestral or primitive form of a species or other group; an archetype

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Other Word Forms

• prototypal adjective
• prototypic adjective
• prototypical adjective

Etymology

Origin of prototype

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

Example Sentences

A wooden Apple I case, a clear acrylic Macintosh, a large iPod prototype and other items from Apple’s past fill the room.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 30, 2026

Cabinet Office minister Darren Jones is later unveiling the prototype of what he called "government by app" as he launched an eight-week consultation exercise to seek the public's views on how the technology should work.

From BBC • Mar. 10, 2026

Equipped initially only with ideas and not a working prototype, Pollen and Isherwood sought cooperation and support from the British Admiralty.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 10, 2026

The liver fibrosis assay described in the study remains a prototype and has not yet been introduced as a clinical test.

From Science Daily • Mar. 6, 2026

That makes it difficult for an inventor to foresee whether his or her awful prototype might eventually find a use and thus warrant more time and expense to develop it.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

Related Words

• mock-up
• model
• precursor