noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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Received-Pronunciation:/pɹəˈspɛktə/
rhymes with -ɛktə(ɹ)
General-American:/ˈpɹɑsˌpɛktɚ/
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:P R AO1 S P EH2 K T ER0
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
A person who explores or prospects an area in search of mineral deposits, such as gold.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
someone who explores an area for mineral deposits
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: miner, mineworker
Narrower terms: sourdough
History
Etymology
From prospect + -or.
Across languages
Translations
24 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Bulgarian:
златотърсач
(zlatotǎrsač)
— person
Chinese Mandarin:
採礦者 /采矿者
(cǎikuàngzhě)
— person
Chinese Mandarin:
探礦者 /探矿者
(tànkuàngzhě)
— person
Czech:
zlatokop
— person
Finnish:
malminetsijä
— person
French:
prospecteur
— person
French:
prospectrice
— person
German:
Prospektor
— person
German:
Goldsucher
— person
Irish:
sirtheoir
— person
Italian:
prospettore
— person
Italian:
cercatore
— person
Japanese:
探鉱者
(tankōsha)
— person
Māori:
kaihaurapa
— person
Māori:
kairapurapu
— person
Norwegian Bokmål:
skjerper
— person
Polish:
poszukiwacz
— person
Portuguese:
garimpeiro
— person
Russian:
стара́тель
(starátelʹ)
— person
Russian:
золотоиска́тель
(zolotoiskátelʹ)
— person
Russian:
геологоразве́дчик
(geologorazvédčik)
— person