# prospect

Pronunciation: US say "PRAH-spekt" /ˈpɹɑspɛkt/; UK say "PRO-spekt" /ˈpɹɒspɛkt/

## Noun

1. Things that may come to pass in the future, especially favorable ones.
   - Simple: Something good that might happen in the future.
   - _The prospect of rain left the picnic plans uncertain._
   - _Her career prospects improved sharply after she earned the degree._
2. The act of looking forward to what lies ahead, whether by foreseeing it or by anticipating it.
   - Simple: The act of looking ahead and thinking about what is going to happen.
   - _The prospect of another round of layoffs kept the whole office on edge._
   - _With the wedding still months in prospect, they had plenty of time to plan._
3. A person or organization that might become a client or customer.
   - Simple: A person who might become a customer or buyer.
   - _Each prospect receives a follow-up email within a day of the call._
   - _The team ranked their prospects by how likely each one was to buy._
4. A player who has yet to appear in a game for the top-level professional team that owns their playing rights.
   - Simple: A player owned by a top pro team who has not yet played a game for it.
   - _The club's brightest prospect spent the year in the minor leagues._
   - _Several prospects were called up after the wave of injuries._
5. The stretch of land or scene that the eye takes in at one time; a view or outlook.
   - Simple: The wide view you can see from one spot at one time.
   - _The tower offered a sweeping prospect across the entire valley._
   - _Travelers paused to take in the grand prospect of the coastline._
6. A picturesque or panoramic view of scenery; a landscape, or a sketch or picture of a landscape.
   - Simple: A beautiful, wide view of the land, or a painting of one.
   - _The gallery displayed an eighteenth-century prospect of the river town._
   - _From the terrace they enjoyed a charming prospect of gardens and distant hills._
9. A thing hoped for, or a person regarded as promising and likely to succeed.
   - Simple: A person who seems likely to do well, or something good you hope for.
   - _Coaches see him as a genuine prospect for the national team._
   - _Among the new hires, she stands out as the strongest prospect._
10. A place or position that commands a fine view of its surroundings, such as a lookout point.
   - Simple: A spot that gives a fine view of the area around it.
   - _The old fort sits on a prospect overlooking the entire bay._
   - _Climbers rested at a high prospect that revealed the whole mountain range._
11. The direction or relative position in which the front of a building or structure faces; its aspect.
   - Simple: The direction that the front of a building faces.
   - _The mansion's eastern prospect caught the morning light._
   - _Architects favored a southern prospect for the warmth it brought to the rooms._
12. The visible front or facade of a pipe organ, including its display pipes and casework.
   - Simple: The decorated front of a pipe organ that you can see.
   - _Restorers cleaned the gleaming prospect of the cathedral organ._
   - _The baroque prospect featured symmetrical rows of silvered pipes._

## Verb

Pronunciation: US say "PRAH-spekt" /ˈpɹɑspɛkt/; UK say "pruh-SPEKT" /pɹəˈspɛkt/

7. To search an area for gold or other valuable minerals.
   - Simple: To search the ground for gold or other valuable minerals.
   - _Thousands rushed to California to prospect for gold._
   - _He prospected along the riverbed, hoping for a lucky strike._
8. To examine an area in order to determine which minerals or metals are present there.
   - Simple: To test an area to find out which minerals or metals are in it.
   - _Geologists prospect remote regions to locate deposits of rare metals._
   - _The firm prospected the old field and found traces of silver._

## Origin

From Latin prospectus, the past participle of prospicere ("to look forward"), formed from pro ("before, forward") plus specere/spicere ("to look, to see"). It is a doublet of prospectus.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/prospect (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).