as in vice
the practice of engaging in sexual activities for money
prostitution is illegal in most states
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of prostitution
One of them faces additional charges of lewd act upon a child and pandering a minor under age 16 for prostitution, court records show.
—
Jose Fabian, CBS News, 5 Feb. 2026
Also that year, several prominent men were named in misdemeanor arrest warrants from a Florida prostitution sting targeting massage parlors.
—Tom Schoenberg, Fortune, 5 Feb. 2026
Epstein notably served over a year behind bars in Palm Beach County as a result of his 2008 guilty plea to soliciting a person under 18 for prostitution.
—Brenton Blanchet, PEOPLE, 4 Feb. 2026
In 2008, Epstein pleaded guilty to state charges of soliciting prostitution, including from a minor.
—Los Angeles Times, 4 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for prostitution
Jose Fabian, CBS News, 5 Feb. 2026
Also that year, several prominent men were named in misdemeanor arrest warrants from a Florida prostitution sting targeting massage parlors.
—Tom Schoenberg, Fortune, 5 Feb. 2026
Epstein notably served over a year behind bars in Palm Beach County as a result of his 2008 guilty plea to soliciting a person under 18 for prostitution.
—Brenton Blanchet, PEOPLE, 4 Feb. 2026
In 2008, Epstein pleaded guilty to state charges of soliciting prostitution, including from a minor.
—Los Angeles Times, 4 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for prostitution
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prostitution
harlotry
Noun
-
In one case, the life of an upper-class woman and contemporary of Julius Caesar, Clodia, saw her reputation destroyed by false claims of harlotry, home-wrecking, and husband-killing.—
Time,
Time,
24 Nov. 2025
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Within the slippery world of harlotry—where class can be transcended and humanity bought—relationships form that defy our historical assumptions about the bounded categories of human experience.—
Sarah Marshall,
New Republic,
2 June 2017
Cite this Entry
“Prostitution.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prostitution. Accessed 10 Feb. 2026.
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