prostitute

B2 Topic:People & Society
US /ˈpɹɑstəˌtut/ UK /ˈprɒstɪtjuːt/
noun verb Freq #5290

Meanings

  1. 1
    noun

    a person who engages in sexual activity in exchange for payment

    The outreach program provides legal and medical support to prostitutes and other sex workers.

  2. 2
    verb

    to use one's abilities, principles, or reputation for an unworthy purpose, especially for money

    Critics accused the artist of prostituting his talent for commercial success.

Thesaurus

Synonyms
1 noun · a person who engages in... sex worker
2 verb · to use one's abilities,... debasedegradesell out
Word family
Derived forms prostitutionprostituted
Related forms sex workbrothelsolicitationdebase

Etymology

From Latin prostitutus, the past participle of prostituere ("to expose publicly; offer for sale"), formed from pro- ("before, in front of") + statuere ("to set, place").

Topics

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