Meaning & use
prototype
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Meanings
nouncountable
A first working version of a product or machine, made so the design can be tested and improved before mass production.
Grammar: Countable: build a prototype.
Patterns
- a prototype of something
- build a prototype
The engineers tested a prototype of the electric scooter.
Only one prototype of the aircraft was ever built.
The startup showed investors a rough prototype of the app.
nouncountableformal
A typical or earliest example that later things copy or are compared against.
Grammar: Countable, often followed by for: a prototype for modern phones.
Patterns
- a prototype for something
This house became the prototype for suburban homes.
He was the prototype of the self-made man.
Her first novel served as a prototype for the whole series.
Word forms
| plural | prototypes |
|---|
Common combinations
- build a prototype
- We built a prototype out of cardboard.
- a working prototype
- A working prototype impressed the judges.
- test a prototype
- The team will test the prototype next week.
- an early prototype
- An early prototype of the phone weighed a kilogram.
- prototype design
- The prototype design needs a stronger handle.
Synonyms and how they differ
- model
- Model is broader and may only show appearance, while a prototype is built to be tested.
- mockup
- Mockup usually shows only how something looks, whereas a prototype is meant to work.
- archetype
- Archetype is an ideal or classic example in ideas or stories, but prototype is usually a physical or digital test version.
- original
- Original means the first version, but it does not say anything about testing.
Opposites
Word family
- prototyping noun
- the process of making early test versions
- prototypical adjective
- typical, serving as a perfect example
- prototype verb
- to make a first test version
- protype noun
- an incorrect spelling to avoid
Commonly confused: prototype or archetype?
prototype vs archetype
An archetype is an idealized, standard example in literature or psychology, whereas a prototype is an early test model of a thing.
Practice
Before mass production, the company built a ___ to test whether the folding bike would hold up.
Choose one answer.
A prototype is an early model made for testing. A stereotype is an oversimplified idea about a group, and an archetype is a typical example in stories.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “prototype”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.