English Reference
noun

prompting

n.
US /ˈpɹɑmptɪŋ/ UK /pɹˈɒmptɪŋ/ prompt·ing UK spelling promptings

  1. 01 B2 Upper Intermediate

    the act of saying something to help someone remember or to encourage them to act.

    the action of persuading, encouraging, or reminding an individual to perform a specific action or speech.

    Simple

    With a little prompting from his wife, he finally told the story.

    In context

    The witness required constant prompting from the lawyer to recall the specific sequence of events that occurred on the night of the accident.

    discouragementdeterrence
  2. 02 B2 Upper Intermediate Technical Computing

    the act of typing instructions into an AI to get a specific result.

    the technical process of inputting specific textual or multimodal instructions into an artificial intelligence system to elicit a desired output.

    Simple

    Effective prompting is the key to getting high-quality images from the AI.

    In context

    The researcher spent hours refining his prompting techniques to ensure the large language model produced unbiased and factually accurate summaries.

    inputtingquerying

Usage prompting evacuations

The three fled to Islamabad, Pakistan, with Sara's five siblings, the day before her body was found, prompting an international manhunt.

BBC News· 14 Aug 2026

There's a bare-legged backlash in Tokyo where officials encouraged men to swap suits for shorts at work , prompting complaints about hairy legs in the office.

BBC News· 6 Aug 2026
This entry
Level B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency Frequent
Updated