prompt

/pɹɒmpt/

//pɹɒmpt// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"prompt" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“prompt” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #8,845. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#8,845
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
11
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Quick; acting without delay.

Corpus desk

Index EN-prompt · prompt · English

prompt · rank #8,845 · 10 variants · 11 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #8,845
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-MID 11 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH prestigious

Nearest frequency peer: prestigious (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “prompt”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “prompt” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

prompt vs prop
67% similar
prompt vs Prot
50% similar
prompt vs props
67% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for prompt
PropertyValue
Headwordprompt
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/pɹɒmpt/
Letters6
Frequency rank#8,845
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs11
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “prompt” sits in English frequency

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).promptlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “prestigious” (#8,844), “quantities” (#8,846), “pouring” (#8,843). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around prompt (IPA /pɹɒmpt/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #8,845 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for prompt, with forms such as "pormpt", "pprompt", and "prmopt". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 11 confusable-pair relationships, "prop", "Prot", "props", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: The adjective is from Middle English prompte, from Middle French prompt and its etymon Latin prōmptus (“visible, apparent, evident”), past participle of prōmō (“to take or bring out or forth, produce, bring to light”), from prō (“forth, forward”) + emō (“to… The correct English form is prompt, spelled P-R-O-M-P-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Quick; acting without delay.
  2. 2
    On time; punctual.
  3. 3
    Ready; willing to act.
  4. 4
    Front: closest or nearest, in futures trading.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how prompt appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. He was very prompt at getting a new job.
  2. a prompt response

Etymology

The adjective is from Middle English prompte, from Middle French prompt and its etymon Latin prōmptus (“visible, apparent, evident”), past participle of prōmō (“to take or bring out or forth, produce, bring to light”), from prō (“forth, forward”) + emō (“to take, acquire, buy”). Doublet of pronto. The verb is from Middle English prompen, apparently from the adjective. The noun is from the verb.

Synonyms

promptfasthastynowon timeon the doublepost-hastequickquick as a winkrapidrashright awaysoonspeedyspit-spotstat

Antonyms

haveringhesitanthesitativetremuloustrepidatiousvacillatory

This word in other languages

rápido(Español)ponctuel(Français)prompt(Deutsch)rápido(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • pormpt
  • pprompt
  • prmopt
  • prommpt
  • promppt
  • promptt
  • promtp
  • propmt
  • prrompt
  • rpompt

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of prompt - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

pormpt2pprompt1prmopt2prommpt1promppt1promptt1promtp2propmt2
Edit distance from "prompt"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "prompt"?
"prompt" is spelled P-R-O-M-P-T. The IPA pronunciation is /pɹɒmpt/.
What does "prompt" mean?
As an adjective, "prompt" means: Quick; acting without delay.
What words are commonly confused with "prompt"?
"prompt" is commonly confused with "prop", "Prot", "props". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "prompt"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "prompt" is /pɹɒmpt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "prompt"?
The adjective is from Middle English prompte, from Middle French prompt and its etymon Latin prōmptus (“visible, apparent, evident”), past participle of prōmō (“to take or bring out or forth, produce, bring to light”), from prō (“forth, forward”) ... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "prompt", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

radius#8,847pickup#8,841Panama#8,839scroll#8,854

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

pouring10 variantsstrips10 variantsthrust10 variantslowered10 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "prompt". Here's where to go from here.

  • "prompt" maps to 11 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "prop". View pair
  • 10 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #8,845 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "P" letter cohort. P–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list