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 of prosper

• thrive
• flourish

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

Striving for perfection at the early stages of building a business can slow down growth, which in turn limits the ability to employ others and help the economy to prosper. — Deann Evans, Forbes.com, 14 Sep. 2026

When a family can work well together, support one another and share a common purpose, everyone prospers. — Louisa Kung Liu Chu, Chicago Tribune, 8 Sep. 2026

But, by standing together, workers can not only withstand those attacks but ultimately prosper. — Mario Cilento, New York Daily News, 7 Sep. 2026

Firms with proprietary data that is valuable to AI agents should be better positioned to prosper, while software companies that offer little beyond functionality — and have few other sources of customer stickiness — could struggle. — Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Steven Tian and Stephen Henriques, CNBC, 29 Aug. 2026

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