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
The department said the passenger, Yorlenys Betzabeth Zambrano-Contreras, played a role in a Tren de Aragua prostitution ring.
—
Julia Ainsley, NBC news, 9 Jan. 2026
Epstein was released from prison in July 2009 after serving 13 months of an 18-month sentence for soliciting prostitution from teenage girls.
—Meredith Kile, PEOPLE, 8 Jan. 2026
Selby’s suggestion about adding context sent Virginia to the 58th Street library, digging into books on topics ranging from America in the 1920s to the history of prostitution to Judge Samuel Seabury’s corruption investigations.
—Literary Hub, 7 Jan. 2026
In the same New York courthouse, Combs was found guilty last year of two counts of transporting individuals for the purposes of prostitution and sentenced to more than four years of prison.
—Ben Wieder, Miami Herald, 5 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for prostitution
Julia Ainsley, NBC news, 9 Jan. 2026
Epstein was released from prison in July 2009 after serving 13 months of an 18-month sentence for soliciting prostitution from teenage girls.
—Meredith Kile, PEOPLE, 8 Jan. 2026
Selby’s suggestion about adding context sent Virginia to the 58th Street library, digging into books on topics ranging from America in the 1920s to the history of prostitution to Judge Samuel Seabury’s corruption investigations.
—Literary Hub, 7 Jan. 2026
In the same New York courthouse, Combs was found guilty last year of two counts of transporting individuals for the purposes of prostitution and sentenced to more than four years of prison.
—Ben Wieder, Miami Herald, 5 Jan. 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 20 Jan. 2026.
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