prong

[ prawng, prong ]

noun

1. one of the pointed tines of a fork.
2. any pointed, projecting part, as of an antler.

   Synonyms: spur, tooth, hook

3. a branch of a stream.
4. Jewelry. a tapering metal projection, usually heavier than a claw, rising from the base of a jewelry setting and used to hold a stone in position as needed. Compare claw ( def 7 ).

verb (used with object)

1. to pierce or stab with or as if with a prong.
2. to supply with prongs.

prong

/ prɒŋ /

noun

1. a sharply pointed end of an instrument, such as on a fork
2. any pointed projecting part

verb

1. tr to prick or spear with or as if with a prong

Derived Forms

• pronged, adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of prong¹

1400–50; late Middle English pronge, prange pain, affliction, pointed instrument; akin to Old Swedish prang gorge, narrow street, Middle Low German prange stake, prangen to press, Gothic anaprangan to oppress

Word History and Origins

Origin of prong¹

C15: related to Middle Low German prange a stake, Gothic anaprangan to afflict

Example Sentences

There are at least five different kinds of EV charging jacks out there, each with a different arrangement of prongs and sockets.

From Quartz

Each prong is in turn covered in a forest of protrusions, or micropillars, that resemble tiny mushrooms.

From Science News

Plus the flex allows the independent prongs of the plate to give way when pushed up by uneven terrain, rather than turning your foot sideways as a full rigid plate would.

From Outside Online

Last week, the head of the US Federal Reserve had the sensitive task of announcing the central bank is rolling back its bond-purchasing program, a key prong of its pandemic stimulus.

From Quartz

This last prong of the Carolene Products framework forms the bulk of Vaello-Madero’s legal argument.

From Vox

In the early morning of August 27, Howe launched a three-prong attack.

From The Daily Beast

This leads to the two-prong test defense lawyers use to battle DUI cases, challenge the stop and challenge the arrest.

From The Daily Beast

But more telling than this is the second prong of the Eastern Lyme Offensive.

From The Daily Beast

The slabs of the flooring, covered everywhere else with greenish moisture, wore a blood-red tint under the prong.

From Project Gutenberg

It is indeed almost impossible for orthodox divines to make a selection which prong of the fork is the worst.

From Project Gutenberg

In man and other placentaires, the forked prong is a teratological fact only encountered in incomplete double monsters.

From Project Gutenberg

The hunter then threw his spear, made with three barbs of different lengths, and caught the duck on the sharp central prong.

From Project Gutenberg

So, snatching a cloak from the prong of an antler in the hall, Theresa went out into the irregular hooting of the storm.

From Project Gutenberg