prostitute
Syllables: pros·ti·tute/ˈpɹɒstɪˌt͡ʃuːt/UK/ˈpɹɒstɪˌtjuːt/
prostitute adjective: debased, corrupt; seeking personal gain by dishonourable means.
Adjective
prostitute (comparative more prostitute, superlative most prostitute)
- Debased, corrupt; seeking personal gain by dishonourable means.
- [H]e speaks a languages that merits not reply, and which can only excite contempt for his prostitute principles, or pity for his ignorance.1791, Thomas Paine, Rights of Man
- Taking part in promiscuous sexual activity, licentious; (later, chiefly as attributive use of noun) that is a prostitute.
- They rightly say that attacks against prostitute women are common and that it's only when five are murdered in one place that it starts to provoke debate.2008, Niki Adams, Lisa Longstaff, The Guardian, letters, 23 February
- Exposed, subjected (to something shameful).
- [A]nd novv at length all men of all Nations, not only Philoſophers, but even the vulgar, have, and doe ſtill deale vvith this [the subject of the book] as a matter of eaſe, expoſed and proſtitute to every Mother-vvit, and to be attained vvithout any great care or ſtudy, […]1651, Tho[mas] Hobbes, “The Authors Preface to the Reader.”, in Philosophicall Rudiments Concerning Government and Society. […], London: […] J[ohn] G[rismond] for R[ichard] Royston, […], →OCLC
Noun
prostitute (plural prostitutes)
- Any person (especially a woman) who has sexual intercourse or engages in other sexual activity for payment, especially as a means of livelihood.
- Synonyms:
- sex worker
- A woman who has sexual intercourse or engages in other sexual activity for payment, especially as a means of livelihood.
- Unfortunately, there is to my knowledge no visual evidence for the dress of the Roman prostitute, but the literary sources present us with a range of prostitute clothing (from rich accoutrements all the way down to nothing), […]2012, Kelly Olson, Dress and the Roman Woman: Self-Presentation and Society, page 50
- A person who does, or offers to do, a demeaning or dishonourable activity for money or personal gain; someone who acts in a dishonourable way for personal advantage.
- Kai Wen: Why not? You're nothing but a prostitute. / Vicky: How dare you call me a prostitute!2013, Unknown, “Gang Clash resulting in the stabbing of one person”, in Crimewatch (Singaporean TV series), season 27, episode 3, spoken by Kai Wen and Vicky (Jernelle Oh and Shanice Koh)
- Madonna would do anything for money, you know, she's a total prostitute. And I've got nothing against prostitutes.2019 May 18, Jack Shepherd, quoting Bobby Gillespie, “Primal Scream frontman calls Madonna a 'total prostitute' for performing at Eurovision in Israel”, in The Independent
- Synonyms:
- sellout
Verb
prostitute (third-person singular simple present prostitutes, present participle prostituting, simple past and past participle prostituted)
- To offer (oneself or someone else) for sexual activity in exchange for money.
- Do not prostitute thy daughter.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Leviticus xix:29
- Gay prisoners who are being raped, prostituted, extorted, and even murdered by their straight counterparts1980 February 16, Ed Mead, “untitled”, in Gay Community News, volume 7, number 29, page 8
- Synonyms:
- sell one's body, pimp
- To sacrifice (oneself, one's talents etc.) in return for profit or other advantage; to exploit for base purposes.
- [T]heſe, their rights / In the vile ſtreets they proſtitute to ſale; / Their ancient rights, their dignities, their laws, / Their native glorious freedom.1740, John Dyer, “The Ruins of Rome. A Poem.”, in Poems. … Viz. I. Grongar Hill. II. The Ruins of Rome. III. The Fleece, in Four Books, London: Printed by John Hughs, for Messrs. R[obert] and J[ames]...
- Synonyms:
- sell out
prostitute meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu
prostitute in Hindi
- a person having sex for profit
- वेश्या veśyā, गणिका gaṇikā, पतिता patitā, कसबी kasbī, पतुरिया paturiyā, रंडी raṇḍī
prostitute in Tamil
- பாலியல் சேவகர், பாலியல் தொழிலாளி, விலைமாது, விலைமகள், வேசி, விபசாரி
prostitute in Marathi
- a person having sex for profit
- वेश्या veśyā
prostitute in Urdu
- a person having sex for profit
- ویشیا veśyā, فاحِشَہ fāhiśa, رَنْڈی ranḍī, قَحْبَہ qahba, زانِیَہ zāniya, بیسْوا besvā
More languagesFewer languages
- prostitute in Bengali
- বেশ্যা beśśa
- prostitute in Telugu
- వేశ్య vēśya
- prostitute in Malayalam
- വേശ്യ vēśya
- prostitute in Kannada
- ವೇಶ್ಯೆ vēśye
- prostitute in Punjabi
- رنڈی ranḍī, ਰੰਡੀ ranḍī, ਲੌਂਡਾ lauṇḍā
- prostitute in Sanskrit
- वेश्या veśyā, रूपाजीवा rūpājīvā, गणिका gaṇikā
- prostitute in Pashto
- فاحشه fāheša
- prostitute in Arabic
- دَاعِرَة dāʕira, بَغِيَّة baḡiyya, عَاهِرَة ʕāhira, زَانِيَّة zāniyya
- prostitute in Malay
- pelacur
- prostitute in Indonesian
- pekerja seks komersial, PSK, lonte, pelacur
- prostitute in Persian
- روسپیگری ruspi-gari, تنفروشی tan-foruši, فاحشهگی fâheše-gi
- prostitute in Thai
- โสเภณี sǒo-pee-nii, แพศยา pɛ̂ɛt-sà-yǎa
- prostitute in Vietnamese
- đĩ, điếm, gái mại dâm
- prostitute in Myanmar
- ပြည့်တန်ဆာ prany.tanhca, ဇိမ်မယ် jimmai, အပြာမယ် a.pramai
Synonyms of prostitute
30 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Antonyms
Forms of prostitute
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| comparative | more prostitute |
| superlative | most prostitute |
| Noun | |
| plural | prostitutes |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | prostitutes |
| present participle | prostituting |
| past participle | prostituted |
| past | prostituted |
Origin of prostitute
From Latin prōstitūtus, past participle of prōstituō, from prō̆ (“for, before”) + statuō (“to set up, to erect”).
Words formed from prostitute
Questions about prostitute
- What does prostitute mean?
- Prostitute means debased, corrupt; seeking personal gain by dishonourable means.
- What is prostitute in Hindi?
- Prostitute in Hindi is वेश्या (veśyā), गणिका (gaṇikā), पतिता (patitā). See Prostitute meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is prostitute?
- Prostitute can be an adjective, a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce prostitute?
- Prostitute is pronounced /ˈpɹɒstɪˌtjuːt/ (UK).
Words near prostitute in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: prostitute (page history and authors); prostitute (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ವೇಶ್ಯೆ (Kannada) (page history and authors); رنڈی (Punjabi) (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.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-prostitute.ogg.
Cite this entry: “prostitute.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/prostitute. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.