prospecting

present participle of prospect
as in searching
to go into or range over for purposes of discovery soon all manner of people had arrived in the valley to prospect it for gold

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of prospecting The prospecting company, now called Hydroma, had a small electrical plant constructed to convert the gas into power for the village’s residents. IEEE Spectrum, 11 Aug. 2026 The city tries to keep its idiosyncratic businesses going while prospecting for newcomers. Roger Vincent, Los Angeles Times, 7 Aug. 2026 When existing pipeline gets heavy, prospecting is the first thing that drops. Jeff Winters, Forbes.com, 27 July 2026 Northern Nigeria boasts commercial-grade lithium deposits that have attracted investment interest from global firms prospecting for green energy minerals. Alexander Onukwue, semafor.com, 8 July 2026 That means prospecting for lunar helium-3 starts by simply making mineralogical maps of the moon’s surface. Robin George Andrews, Scientific American, 14 May 2026 The price of the precious metal has skyrocketed—briefly surpassing a record five thousand dollars an ounce earlier this spring—and, as Jennifer Wilson reports from the American West for this week’s special issue, this has led to a boom in prospecting not seen since the days of the forty-niners. David Remnick, New Yorker, 11 May 2026 From a robot that can handwrite hundreds of real estate prospecting cards in minutes to a digital consultant that can narrow down thousands of mortgage options for a client, artificial intelligence has finally arrived in the real estate industry. Amancai Biraben, Oc Register, 6 Apr. 2026 Elements of the vision unveiled by Isaacman and other NASA officials last week, such as deep space nuclear propulsion, nuclear reactors on the Moon, and prospecting for lunar resources, will require significant investment in new space technology. Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 3 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prospecting
Verb
  • The Steelers sent a second-round pick to Seattle for Metcalf after years of searching for a top wideout.
    Jonathan Jones, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026
  • The move is another surprising one in a season where the Current are searching for consistency under first-year head coach Chris Armas.
    PJ Green, Kansas City Star, 7 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Researchers are also exploring combinations of cancer vaccines and other treatments, such as checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapy, to strengthen the body's anti-cancer response.
    Janet Loehrke, USA Today, 6 Sep. 2026
  • Orwell was exploring the roles that euphemism, tangled syntax, and dying metaphors can play in obscuring the true intentions of a totalitarian state.
    Louisa Thomas, New Yorker, 6 Sep. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Prospecting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prospecting. Accessed 10 Sep. 2026.

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