prosper

verb

pros·​per ˈprä-spər 

prospered; prospering ˈprä-sp(ə-)riŋ 

intransitive verb

1

: to succeed in an enterprise or activity

especially : to achieve economic success

2

: to become strong and flourishing

transitive verb

: to cause to succeed or thrive

Synonyms

• burgeon
• bourgeon
• flourish
• thrive

Examples of prosper in a Sentence

She prospered as a real estate agent.

He hopes his business will prosper.

No crop can prosper in this heat.

Recent Examples on the Web

The construction of the Roosevelt Damn and the Eastern and Consolidated Canals in the early 1900s, two key water projects in Arizona, helped Gilbert prosper as a farming community. —Maritza Dominguez, The Arizona Republic, 5 Dec. 2024

Yunus knows that improving livelihoods is the only sure way to buy the necessary time to rebuild state institutions, so autocracy can never return—a new Bangladesh that prospers long after those murals have sun-bleached and blistered. —Charlie Campbell, TIME, 21 Nov. 2024

The goal was to create this open global system that everyone could join and prosper from: a liberal international order. —Foreign Affairs, 7 Nov. 2024

The bad guys of the world have to think twice, and our markets help other nations prosper. —David Faris, Newsweek, 4 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English prosperen, borrowed from Anglo-French prosperer "to promote, foster, be fortunate or successful," borrowed from Latin prosperāre "to cause to succeed, further" (Medieval Latin also, in passive, "to be granted success, succeed"), verbal derivative of prosperus "agreeable to one's wishes, successful, prosperous"

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Kids Definition

prosper

verb

pros·​per ˈpräs-pər 

prospered; prospering -p(ə-)riŋ 

1

: to succeed or make money in something one is doing

2

: thrive sense 1, flourish

3

: to cause to become prosperous