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
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
In 2027, the company plans a prospecting mission to one of their target spots to analyze dirt samples.
—Jeremy Bogaisky, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025
Those companies, in turn, are selling their AI products to all the non-tech companies that are prospecting for gold — that is, looking for ways that AI can make their operations cheaper or more efficient.
—Maria Aspan, NPR, 30 Aug. 2025
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
In 2027, the company plans a prospecting mission to one of their target spots to analyze dirt samples.
—Jeremy Bogaisky, Forbes.com, 2 Sep. 2025
Those companies, in turn, are selling their AI products to all the non-tech companies that are prospecting for gold — that is, looking for ways that AI can make their operations cheaper or more efficient.
—Maria Aspan, NPR, 30 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prospecting
Verb
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Police in New Jersey are searching for a vandal who threw bricks through the windows of vehicles parked on streets in at least two Union County towns.—
Allen Devlin,
CBS News,
6 Apr. 2026
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Its reappearance on the literary scene comes at a time when younger generations, who may be naive to MI theory, are searching for new ways to be defined.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
6 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Festivals have recognized that, while K-pop broke a lot of ground, many other countries have distinct twists on the formula worth exploring.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Apr. 2026
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The tour is also exploring limited partner sales for two of its franchises in 2026, having retained Citi’s Global Sports Advisory to assist with the process.—
Justin Birnbaum,
Sportico.com,
9 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Prospecting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prospecting. Accessed 12 Apr. 2026.
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