prompter

[ promp-ter ]

noun

1. a person or thing that prompts.
2. Theater. a person who is offstage and follows a play in progress from the book, repeating missed cues and supplying actors with forgotten lines.
3. an electronic or mechanical device for prompting a speaker or performer.

prompter

/ ˈprɒmptə /

noun

1. a person offstage who reminds the actors of forgotten lines or cues
2. a person, thing, etc, that prompts

Other Words From

• under·prompter noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of prompter¹

late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50; prompt, -er ¹

Example Sentences

Those accounts accused Harris of making use of the prompter to answer questions from the audience, asked in English and Spanish, causing Univision producers to set the record straight late Thursday night.

From Salon

I'd like to see how she performs more off the cuff and without an ability to read from the prompter.

From BBC

“Now they’re back safely in their joke holes, doing what they do best: making my prompter word screen full of good and haha.”

From Los Angeles Times

The performances were longer than time allotted in recent years and the presenters or winners didn’t use prompters.

From Seattle Times

Diesel even mocked the script rolling across the prompter that Universal had put together for the actor to read about the movie.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• efficient
• expeditious
• immediate
• instantaneous
• precise
• punctual
• quick
• rapid
• speedy
• swift
• timely