What does "prospect" mean?

1. (future possibility) the possibility that something will happen in the future, especially something good. 2. (potential candidate) a person who is likely to be successful or chosen for a job or team. 3. (a wide view) a wide view of a landscape or area from a high place. 4. (to search for minerals) to search an area for gold, oil, or other valuable minerals.

How do you use "prospect"?

The verb is usually intransitive and takes the preposition 'for'.

prospect

n. · v.

US //ˈpɹɑspɛkt// prospect

1 future possibility (n.)
B2 Upper Intermediate General-service

the possibility that something will happen in the future, especially something good.

the possibility or likelihood of some future event occurring. Often used in the plural to discuss general future success.

Example

The prospect of a long holiday kept her motivated throughout the busy week.

Example

The prospect of a significant interest rate hike has caused considerable anxiety among small business owners and independent investors alike.
- impossibility
2 potential candidate (n.)
B2 Upper Intermediate General-service

a person who is likely to be successful or chosen for a job or team.

a person regarded as likely to succeed or as a potential candidate for a position, especially in professional sports or sales.

Example

The sales team is meeting with a new prospect tomorrow morning.

Example

Scouts from several major league teams attended the game to evaluate the young pitching prospect before the upcoming draft.

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3 a wide view (n.)
C1 Advanced Literary

a wide view of a landscape or area from a high place.

an extensive or panoramic view of a landscape; a scene spread out before the observer.

Example

From the top of the hill, we enjoyed a beautiful prospect of the valley below.

Example

The architect designed the terrace specifically to capture the grand prospect of the rugged coastline and the distant islands.
4 to search for minerals (v.)
C1 Advanced Technical Science

to search an area for gold, oil, or other valuable minerals.

to explore an area for mineral deposits or oil. Intransitive, often followed by 'for'.

Example

Many people went west to prospect for gold during the nineteenth century.

Example

Geologists were sent to the remote northern territory to prospect for rare earth minerals essential for battery production.

Usage

The verb is usually intransitive and takes the preposition 'for'.

Etymology 1

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.

Etymology 2

Learned borrowing from Latin prōspectō.