prompt

[prompt] /prɒmpt/
adjective, prompter, promptest.
1.
done, performed, delivered, etc., at once or without delay:
a prompt reply.
2.
ready in action; quick to act as occasion demands.
3.
quick or alert:
prompt to take offense.
4.
punctual.
verb (used with object)
5.
to move or induce to action:
What prompted you to say that?
6.
to occasion or incite; inspire:
What prompted his resignation?
7.
to assist (a person speaking) by suggesting something to be said.
8.
Theater. to supply (an actor, singer, etc.) from offstage with a missed cue or forgotten line.
verb (used without object)
9.
Theater. to supply forgotten lines, lyrics, or the like to an actor, singer, etc.
noun
10.
Commerce.
  1. a limit of time given for payment for merchandise purchased, the limit being stated on a note of reminder (prompt note)
  2. the contract setting the time limit.
11.
the act of prompting.
12.
something serving to suggest or remind.
13.
Computers. a message or symbol from a computer system to a user, generally appearing on a display screen, requesting more information or indicating that the system is ready for user instructions.
Idioms
14.
take a prompt, (in acting) to move or speak in response to a cue.
Origin
1300-50; (v.) Middle English < Medieval Latin prōmptāre to incite, Latin: to distribute, frequentative of prōmere to bring out, equivalent to prō- pro-1 + (e)mere to take, buy; (adj.) late Middle English < Latin promptus ready, prompt, special use of past participle of prōmere
Related forms
promptly, adverb
promptness, noun
overprompt, adjective
overpromptly, adverb
overpromptness, noun
quasi-prompt, adjective
quasi-promptly, adverb
unprompt, adjective
unpromptly, adverb
unpromptness, noun
unprompted, adjective
Synonyms
5. urge, spur, instigate, impel.
Examples from the web for prompt
  • prompt them to identify the different parts of their submarines and the purposes they serve.
  • prompt students to describe the backpack and the contents inside.
  • The instantly, universally recognizable border seemed the best prompt to get the wildlife to strike a pose.
  • It would prompt the first of a thousand stops along this eye-candy route of indented coves and stony outcrops.
  • They seem to take your prompt to follow-up with tardy outside readers.
  • We almost always end each post with a specific question or prompt.
  • We welcome comments that respond to that question or prompt.
  • We now lack any mandated way to prompt that useful sorting.
  • Without this prompt of openness and willingness to receive from you, there is no indication that the need is really there.
  • Disabling cookies may result in a log-in prompt every time you refresh your browser.
British Dictionary definitions for prompt

prompt

/prɒmpt/
adjective
1.
performed or executed without delay
2.
quick or ready to act or respond
adverb
3.
(informal) punctually
verb
4.
(transitive) to urge (someone to do something)
5.
to remind (an actor, singer, etc) of lines forgotten during a performance
6.
(transitive) to refresh the memory of
7.
(transitive) to give rise to by suggestion: his affairs will prompt discussion
noun
8.
(commerce)
  1. the time limit allowed for payment of the debt incurred by purchasing goods or services on credit
  2. the contract specifying this time limit
  3. Also called prompt note. a memorandum sent to a purchaser to remind him of the time limit and the sum due
9.
the act of prompting
10.
anything that serves to remind
11.
an aid to the operator of a computer in the form of a question or statement that appears on the screen showing that the equipment is ready to proceed and indicating the options available
Derived Forms
promptly, adverb
promptness, noun
Word Origin
C15: from Latin promptus evident, from prōmere to produce, from pro-1 + emere to buy
Word Origin and History for prompt
v.

mid-14c., prompten, from Latin promptus, past participle of promere "to bring forth," from pro- "forward" (see pro-) + emere "to take" (see exempt (adj.)). Theatrical sense of "to assist a speaker with lines" is first recorded early 15c. Related: Prompted; prompting.

n.

early 15c., "readiness," from Latin promptus (see prompt (v.)). Meaning "hint, act of prompting" is from 1590s. Computer sense attested by 1977.

adj.

early 15c., from Old French prompt and directly from Latin promptus "brought forth," hence "visible, apparent, evident," past participle of promere "to take or bring out or forth" (see prompt (v.)).Related: Promptly; promptitude.