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

And Enciso has not prospered so far under Hurzeler, scoring once and assisting once in 16 intermittent appearances across all competitions. —Andy Naylor, New York Times, 9 May 2025

As the economy evolves, three-fourths of working-age Americans will need college degrees and workforce credentials to prosper—a goal that will be impossible to reach without cracking the college affordability problem. —Jamie Merisotis, Forbes.com, 8 May 2025

After all, investors have been here before, and eventually prospered. —Ryan Ermey, CNBC, 22 Apr. 2025

Given how thoroughly Russia’s military, intelligence, and law enforcement elites have invested in the war in Ukraine and prospered from it, Putin’s successors will have little immediate incentive to make a clean break with the past. —Alexander Gabuev, Foreign Affairs, 17 Apr. 2025

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