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, while Black Wall Street can attest to this, Miller discovered Black towns like Wilmington, North Carolina–that prospered greatly and were meccas. —Essence, 24 Feb. 2025

Macron said the idea is to help the U.S. and Europe both prosper, saying that further talks would be carried out by their respective teams to flesh out their ideas. —Josh Boak, Chicago Tribune, 24 Feb. 2025

The foreign archives narrate the Cold War, international alliances, and the power game that allowed the dictatorship to prosper, in addition to denouncing propaganda and oppression. —Matthew Carey, Deadline, 20 Feb. 2025

These efforts ensure that Floridians can prosper for many generations to come. —Toby Overdorf, Sun Sentinel, 18 Feb. 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