# prone

/ˈpɹoʊn/ (US) · /pɹˈəʊn/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/prone
Updated: 2026-06-20

## Senses

### 1. likely to experience something

adjective · CEFR B2

likely to do something or suffer from something, especially something bad.

For teachers: having a natural inclination or tendency toward a particular condition or action, typically one that is negative or disadvantageous.

- He is prone to headaches when he works too long at the computer.
- The region is particularly prone to flash flooding during the monsoon season, requiring residents to maintain constant vigilance.

Usage: Usually followed by the preposition 'to' and a noun or a gerund.

### 2. lying face down

adjective · CEFR C1 · Technical

lying flat on your front with your face pointing downwards.

For teachers: lying in a horizontal position with the front of the body facing the ground.

- The patient was placed in a prone position to help them breathe more easily.
- The instructor demonstrated how to achieve a stable prone position on the mats before the trainees began the target practice session.

Usage: Often used in medical or military contexts to describe body position.

### 3. to place face down

verb · CEFR C2 · Technical

to put someone into a position where they are lying on their front.

For teachers: to place a person in a face-down position, especially for medical treatment.

- The nurses had to prone the patient every few hours to prevent skin problems.
- Clinical guidelines suggest that medical staff should prone patients with severe respiratory distress to improve oxygenation levels in the blood.

Usage: This is a transitive verb used almost exclusively in clinical settings.

## Examples

- He is prone to headaches when he works too late.
- The region is prone to flooding during the spring when the mountain snow begins to melt.
- While some patients remained in a supine position, others were placed in a prone orientation to improve their respiratory function during the treatment.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.