prong

1 of 2

noun

ˈprȯŋ How to pronounce prong (audio)
ˈpräŋ
1
: fork
2
: a tine of a fork
3
: a slender pointed or projecting part: such as
a
: a fang of a tooth
b
: a point of an antler
4
: something resembling a prong

prong

2 of 2

verb

pronged; pronging; prongs

transitive verb

: to stab, pierce, or break up with a pronged device

Examples of prong in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
The second and fourth fingers can become a prong that hammers out rapid patterns. Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 4 Sep. 2023 The next few months will bring deadlines for key prongs of the Biden trade policy: an effort with Europe to remake the global steel market; negotiations toward an Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF); and deciding what to do about tariffs on U.S. imports from China. David J. Lynch, Washington Post, 27 Aug. 2023 In this video, someone stuck a fork on the nail, so the nail is securely sandwiched between two prong and the fork's handle is pointed toward the ceiling. Kelsey Mulvey, House Beautiful, 29 Aug. 2023 Step 4: Using a soft, clean toothbrush, gently scrub between the prongs, being careful not to remove any of the brush's ceramic coating. Caroline Picard, Good Housekeeping, 8 Aug. 2023 Their branches have prongs on one end which can be placed into a drink and briskly rotated between the palms of the hand to mix a cocktail. Southern Living Test Kitchen, Southern Living, 31 July 2023 The latest inflation data is a further prong in the argument to pause rate hikes or even reverse them. Nate Dicamillo, Quartz, 13 June 2023 Another big prong in McDonald’s plan is making Lululemon a global player. Phil Wahba, Fortune, 8 June 2023 Made with genius folder dividers and prongs, students can organize pages by labeling according to subject or class. Emily Rochotte, Good Housekeeping, 9 Aug. 2023
Verb
The chat reportedly suggested the members had strong ties to the police force, which then brought police corruption into the multi-pronged scandal. Caitlin Kelley, Billboard, 24 Mar. 2019 Apparently, there's now a new twist on the classic shape, looking a little more modern with an oval center stone and spiky pronged diamonds surrounding it. Katherine J. Igoe, Marie Claire, 2 Aug. 2019 The solutions, according to the Bay Area Equity Atlas report and Price’s work, have to be multi-pronged in order to really tackle the problems of housing affordability. Bay City News Service, The Mercury News, 13 Aug. 2019 Few hardware manufacturers have convinced other game makers that their strange, proprietary chips—full of multi-pronged, work-in-tandem processors or cores—are worth those system-specific headaches. Sam MacHkovech, Ars Technica, 19 Sep. 2018 There’s no definitive diagnostic test for schizophrenia, so doctors will typically take a multi-pronged approach. Nina Bahadur, SELF, 15 Sep. 2018 Google, which has been under fire for being one of the biggest enablers of fake news, is now fighting back with a new multi-pronged, $300 million plan to elevate quality journalism. Alyssa Newcomb /, NBC News, 20 Mar. 2018 To answer these questions, the researchers launched a multi-pronged analysis. Scott K. Johnson, Ars Technica, 27 Jan. 2018 The indictments of the 13 Russians relate to just one prong of a multi-pronged investigation. Jeff Darcy, cleveland.com, 20 Feb. 2018 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'prong.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English pronge

First Known Use

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1785, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of prong was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near prong

Cite this Entry

“Prong.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prong. Accessed 30 Sep. 2023.

Kids Definition

prong

noun
ˈprȯŋ,
ˈpräŋ
1
2
: one of the sharp points of a fork : tine
3
: a slender pointed part that sticks out (as on an antler)
4
: something resembling a prong
there are two prongs to the argument
pronged
ˈprȯŋd
ˈpräŋd
adjective

More from Merriam-Webster on prong

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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