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
Appointment Setting As The Output Of Lead Generation Most account executives are capable of prospecting, particularly earlier in their careers.
—Jeff Winters, Forbes.com, 22 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
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
Appointment Setting As The Output Of Lead Generation Most account executives are capable of prospecting, particularly earlier in their careers.
—Jeff Winters, Forbes.com, 22 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prospecting
Verb
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According to Ritter, defense attorneys could have been searching for a final opportunity to strengthen Anthony's position before the case reached the jury.—
Stepheny Price,
FOXNews.com,
9 June 2026
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The Pentagon is searching for new ways to protect military satellite communications from electronic attacks in space.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
8 June 2026
Verb
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The beach is easy to access from the hotel, and kids will delight in exploring the tide pools along the shoreline.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
11 June 2026
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For people exploring non-drug routes to metabolic health, lifestyle approaches remain the most accessible option.—
Allison Palmer,
Kansas City Star,
11 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Prospecting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prospecting. Accessed 13 Jun. 2026.
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