prospect
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.the possibility that something will happen in the future, especially something good.
n.the possibility or likelihood of some future event occurring. Often used in the plural to discuss general future success.
Simple“The prospect of a long holiday kept her motivated throughout the busy week.”
In context“The prospect of a significant interest rate hike has caused considerable anxiety among small business owners and independent investors alike.”
SynonymsAntonyms - 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.a person who is likely to be successful or chosen for a job or team.
n.a person regarded as likely to succeed or as a potential candidate for a position, especially in professional sports or sales.
Simple“The sales team is meeting with a new prospect tomorrow morning.”
In context“Scouts from several major league teams attended the game to evaluate the young pitching prospect before the upcoming draft.”
Synonyms - 03 C1 Advanced
n.a wide view of a landscape or area from a high place.
n.an extensive or panoramic view of a landscape; a scene spread out before the observer.
Simple“From the top of the hill, we enjoyed a beautiful prospect of the valley below.”
In context“The architect designed the terrace specifically to capture the grand prospect of the rugged coastline and the distant islands.”
- 04 C1 Advanced
v.to search an area for gold, oil, or other valuable minerals.
v.to explore an area for mineral deposits or oil. Intransitive, often followed by 'for'.
Simple“Many people went west to prospect for gold during the nineteenth century.”
In context“Geologists were sent to the remote northern territory to prospect for rare earth minerals essential for battery production.”
UsageThe verb is usually intransitive and takes the preposition 'for'.
Usage prospect of keeping · future prospect
“Vandome said: “[Hichilema’s] prospects of winning are very high.”
“Or, finding yourself wide awake at 3am, brain whirring and no prospect of sleep.”
From Middle English prospecte, from Latin prōspectus (“view, sight, prospect; panorama”), from prōspiciō (“to look forward”) + -tus (suffix forming action nouns), from pro (“before, forward”) + speciō, spiciō (“to look, to see”). By surface analysis, pro- + -spect. Doublet of prospectus. The verb is from the noun.
Learned borrowing from Latin prōspectō.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.