Meaning & use
prospect
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
The chance that something will happen in the future, or a future event that is expected.
Grammar: Often followed by of and an -ing form: the prospect of winning.
Patterns
- the prospect of something
- the prospect of doing something
- a prospect for something
The prospect of a long flight made her nervous.
There is little prospect of a quick agreement.
He looked forward to the prospect of seeing his family again.
nouncountablebusiness
A person who may become a customer, a team member or a success, judged by potential.
Grammar: Used in sales and sports.
Patterns
- a prospect for something
The salesperson called a new prospect about the software.
The club signed a promising young prospect from the junior league.
Each prospect receives a personal follow-up email.
nounusually plural
Chances of future success, often in the plural.
Grammar: Often 'prospects': career prospects, job prospects.
Patterns
- good prospects
- prospects for something
Graduates in engineering have excellent job prospects.
The company's prospects look bleak after the lawsuit.
His prospects improved when he finished his degree.
verbtransitive or intransitive
To search an area for valuable minerals such as gold or oil.
Grammar: Often used with for: prospect for gold.
Patterns
- prospect for something
- prospect a region
Miners came to prospect for gold in the river valley.
The company is prospecting the northern hills for copper.
He spent years prospecting before striking a rich vein.
Word forms
| plural | prospects |
|---|---|
| third person singular | prospects |
| past tense | prospected |
| past participle | prospected |
| -ing form | prospecting |
Common combinations
- prospect of success
- There is a real prospect of success this year.
- job prospects
- Job prospects are strong for nurses.
- bleak prospect
- A bleak prospect lay ahead if the factory closed.
- exciting prospect
- Moving abroad is an exciting prospect.
- prospect for gold
- Many settlers went west to prospect for gold.
- career prospects
- A degree can improve your career prospects.
Synonyms and how they differ
- possibility
- Possibility is neutral and general, while prospect stresses something looked forward to or dreaded in the future.
- outlook
- Outlook describes the likely course of things overall, whereas prospect can name a single future event.
- expectation
- Expectation emphasizes what someone believes will happen, while prospect names the future possibility itself.
- candidate
- Candidate means someone being considered, while prospect stresses potential.
Opposites
Word family
- prospective adjective
- likely to happen or become something in the future
- prospector noun
- a person who searches for minerals
- prospecting noun
- the search for valuable minerals
- prospectus noun
- a document describing a school or investment
Commonly confused: prospect or perspective? prospect or prospectus?
prospect vs perspective
Perspective means a way of viewing something, while prospect means a future possibility.
prospect vs prospectus
A prospectus is a document that describes a school or an investment, not a future possibility.
Practice
The ___ of working abroad excited her, though she had never left her country.
Choose one answer.
Prospect here means a future possibility looked forward to. Perspective means a point of view, and a prospectus is a document.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “prospect”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.