Word.ws English Dictionary

prospects

Syllables: pros·pectsUK/ˈpɹɒspɛkts//ˈpɹɑspɛkts/

prospects is the plural of prospect.

prospects is the third-person singular simple present indicative of prospect.

Meaning of prospect

Noun

prospect (plural prospects)

  1. The region which the eye overlooks at one time; a view; a scene; an outlook.
    • As when a Scout[…]Obtains the brow of ſome high-climbing Hill, / Which to his eye diſcovers unaware / The goodly proſpect of ſome forein land / Firſt-ſeen, or ſome renownd Metropolis / With gliſtering Spires and Pinnacles adornd, / Which now the Riſing Sun guilds with his beams.1667, John Milton, “Book III”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished...
  2. A picturesque or panoramic view; a landscape; hence, a sketch of a landscape.
    • I went to Putney, and other places on the Thames, to take prospects in crayon, to carry into France, where I thought to have them engraved.1649 June 20, John Evelyn, edited by William Bray, John Evelyn's Diary, volume 1, London: Henry Colburn, published 1850, page 251
  3. A position affording a fine view; a lookout.
    • Him God beholding from his proſpect high, / Wherein paſt, preſent, future he beholds, / Thus to his onely Son forſeeing ſpake.1667, John Milton, “Book III”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished...
  4. A relative position of the front of a building or other structure; a face; a relative aspect.
    • Their prospect was toward the south.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Ezekiel 40:44
  5. The act of looking forward; foresight; anticipation.
    • a very ill prospect of a future state1689 (indicated as 1690), [John Locke], An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding. […], London: […] Eliz[abeth] Holt, for Thomas Basset, […], →OCLC
  6. The potential things that may come to pass, often favorable.
    • The result, therefore, of this physical inquiry is, that we find no vestige of a beginning,— no prospect of an end.1788, James Hutton, Theory of the earth, page 166
    Synonyms:
    outcome

See all 31 meanings of prospect

Phrases with prospects

Questions about prospects

What is prospects the plural of?
Prospects is the plural of prospect.
How do you pronounce prospects?
Prospects is pronounced /ˈpɹɒspɛkts/ (UK).

Words near prospects in the dictionary

  1. prospectivity
  2. prospectless
  3. prospectlessness
  4. prospector
  5. prospectors
  6. prospects
  7. prospectus
  8. prospectuses
  9. prospectusless
  10. prospekt
  11. prospekts

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: prospects (page history and authors); prospect (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-prospects.ogg.

Cite this entry: “prospects.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/prospects. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.