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
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Recent Examples of prospecting
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
The telegraph-poling parties found traces of gold in the stony hills around Pine Creek, south of Darwin, and in 1872 gold-prospecting parties began to arrive through Port Darwin.
—Britannica Editors, Encyclopedia Britannica, 19 Mar. 2026
The three water companies were founded more than a century ago, when Los Angeles was still a fledgling town surrounded by farms, and miners were prospecting for gold on the slopes of the San Gabriel Mountains.
—Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 31 Jan. 2026
Over a year ago, our sales team identified prospecting as the biggest bottleneck in its daily workflows.
—Dennis Woodside, Fortune, 26 Oct. 2025
Over the years, many scientists have suggested that prospecting for He-3 could be accomplished using high-energy gamma rays, in the 20 megaelectron volt (MeV) region.
—Leonard David, Space.com, 30 Sep. 2025
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
The telegraph-poling parties found traces of gold in the stony hills around Pine Creek, south of Darwin, and in 1872 gold-prospecting parties began to arrive through Port Darwin.
—Britannica Editors, Encyclopedia Britannica, 19 Mar. 2026
The three water companies were founded more than a century ago, when Los Angeles was still a fledgling town surrounded by farms, and miners were prospecting for gold on the slopes of the San Gabriel Mountains.
—Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 31 Jan. 2026
Over a year ago, our sales team identified prospecting as the biggest bottleneck in its daily workflows.
—Dennis Woodside, Fortune, 26 Oct. 2025
Over the years, many scientists have suggested that prospecting for He-3 could be accomplished using high-energy gamma rays, in the 20 megaelectron volt (MeV) region.
—Leonard David, Space.com, 30 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prospecting
Verb
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As police were searching for a suspect inside the Islamic center, dispatchers got calls that a landscaper may have been shot at blocks away, Wahl said.—
Dennis Romero,
NBC news,
19 May 2026
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This was not an adequate explanation, and the woman was now looking back over her shoulder, as if searching for help.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
19 May 2026
Verb
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Another Californian was exposed to hantavirus An expedition cruise ship capable of exploring remote Antarctic regions became the epicenter of the first deadly hantavirus outbreak at sea, killing three passengers of the MV Hondius.—
Assistant Editor,
Los Angeles Times,
14 May 2026
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For those with multiple debts, this may also be the point where exploring professional debt relief assistance becomes worthwhile.—
Angelica Leicht,
CBS News,
14 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Prospecting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prospecting. Accessed 23 May. 2026.
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