prosper

American

[pros-per] / ˈprɒs pər /

verb (used without object)

to be successful or fortunate, especially in financial respects; thrive; flourish.

Antonyms:

fail

verb (used with object)

Archaic. to make successful or fortunate.

prosper British

/ ˈprɒspə /

verb

(usually intr) to thrive, succeed, etc, or cause to thrive, succeed, etc in a healthy way

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Usage

What does prosper mean? Prosper means to be successful or fortunate, especially in a financial or material way.Prosper often implies success in terms of wealth, health, and happiness. But it can also be used broadly, much like the words succeed, thrive, and flourish.You can say that someone is prospering in the present, but the word is perhaps most commonly used in the context of what will happen in the future.Prosper is associated with its use in the phrase “live long and prosper,” the catchphrase of the character Spock in the Star Trek series of TV shows and movies.Someone who prospers can be described as prosperous. The noun prosperity refers to a state of success.Example: If we can continue to maintain this level of quality, our company will continue to prosper.

Related Words

See succeed.

Other Word Forms

unprospered adjective
unprospering adjective

Etymology

Origin of prosper

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English prosperen, Old French prosperer, from Latin prosperāre “to make happy,” derivative of prosperus prosperous

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Kuriyama held firm that Ohtani could prosper as both a pitcher and hitter at a time that opinion was far from universal.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 6, 2026

Even with the Asia Cup on the horizon and the departure of key players such as Yui Hasegawa, they look well equipped to prosper.

From BBC • Feb. 13, 2026

Asked where he had found the belief to prosper on the NFL's biggest stage after being traded between five teams over eight years, Darnold responded: "It's easy. My teammates and my coaches."

From Barron's • Feb. 9, 2026

His company may emerge from today’s pinball-like experience still needing a strategy to survive and prosper on its own amid the entertainment industry’s streaming and artificial-intelligence convulsions.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 26, 2025

Then an idea seemed to strike him and he said shrewdly: “Yet I will myself take you there, and if you prosper you can pay me.”

From "Nectar in a Sieve" by Kamala Markandaya

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023