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likely future success; full of PROMISE: a promising young
singer → opposite UNPROMISING —ly adv
prom·is·sory note /'prɒmɪsəri ˌnəʊt||'prɑːmɪsɔːri-/ n a
written promise to pay a certain sum of money on demand
or on a stated date
pro·mo /'prəʊməʊ/ n pl. -s infml something, such as a short
film, intended to advertise a product or activity
prom·on·to·ry /'prɒməntəri||'prɑːməntɔːri/ n a long nar-
row point of land stretching out into the sea; HEADLAND
pro·mote /prə'məʊt/ v [T] 1 [(to)] a) to give (someone) a
higher position or rank: My daughter's just been promoted. |
The young army officer was promoted to (the rank of) captain. |
[+obj+n] (especially BrE) They promoted him captain. → opposite
DEMOTЕ b) especially BrE to put (a team) up to a higher level in
a sports competition: After this win, Manchester United were
promoted to the First Division. → compare RELEGATE 2 to
help actively in forming or arranging (a business, concert,
play etc): to promote a boxing match | to promote a bill in
Parliament (=introduce and support it) 3 to bring (goods) to
public notice in order to encourage people to buy: a big
advertising campaign to promote our new toothpaste 4 [ml to
help in the growth or development of: Milk promotes health. |
new efforts to promote the cause of world peace
pro·mot·er /prə'məʊtə/ n a person whose job is to promote
events, activities, goods etc (PROMOTE (2,3))
pro·mo·tion /prə'məʊʃən/ n 1 [C;U] (an) advancement in
rank or position: Congratulations on your promotion. | There
are good chances of promotion in this firm. 2 [C;U] (an)
activity intended to help the development or success of
something, especially of a product for sale: This year's sales
promotions haven't been very successful. | a video promotion of
a pop record 3 [C] a product that is being promoted: one of
our latest promotions —al adj
prompt¹ /prɒmpt||præːmpt/ v 1 [T] to cause or urge: The
sight of the ships prompted thoughts of his distant home. |
What prompted that remark? | [+obj+to-v] His evasive reply
prompted me to ask another question. 2 [I;T] to remind (an
actor) of the next words in a speech → see also
PROMPT⁴ 3 [T] to help (a speaker who pauses) by suggesting
how to continue: to prompt a witness in court
prompt² adj 1 (of an action) done quickly, at once, or at the
right time: Prompt payment of bills is greatly appreci-
ated. 2 [F] (of a person) a) arriving at the right time;
PUNCTUAL: I can't understand it; she's usually very
prompt. b) quick to take action: She's always prompt to
criticize other people's ideas. | He is always prompt in answer-
ing letters. —ly adv: The performance will begin promptly at
nine o'clock. —ness n [U] —itude /ml
prompt³ adv infml exactly in regard to time: The performance
will start at seven o'clock prompt.
prompt⁴ n 1 a word or words spoken in prompting an
actor 2 also prompt·er /'prɒmptə||'prɑːmp-/ — a person
who prompts actors
Proms, the /prɒmz||prɑːmz/ a series of concerts of CLASSI-
CAL music which take place every summer at the ALBERT
HALL in London, over a period of several weeks. Part of the
hall has no seats, so that more people can attend the
concerts and pay less, and many people, especially young
people, stand there to listen to the concerts. The Proms were
started by Sir Henry WOOD in 1895, and they are a well-
known part of British life. The final concert each year, called
the LAST NIGHT OF THE PROMS, is always shown on tel-
evision.
prom·ul·gate /'prɒməlgeɪt||'prɑː-/ v [T] fml 1 to cause (a
law or religious rule) to be brought into effect by official
public declaration 2 to spread (a belief, idea etc) widely
—gator n —gation /ˌprɒməl'geɪʃənprɑː-/ n [U]
pron written abbrev. for PRONOUN
prone /prəʊn/ adj 1 [F+to-v/ to] likely to suffer (usually some-
thing undesirable): People are more prone to make mistakes
when they are tired. | Women are especially prone to this
disease. | strike-prone industries | Mary's always hurting
herself: she's very accident-prone. 2 fml lying on one's front,
face downwards: They stepped over his prone body. → com-
pare PROSTRATE, SUPINE —ness n [U(to)]
prong /prɒŋ||prɔːŋ/ n 1 a thin sharp-pointed piece or part,
such as part of a fork or one of the branched horns of a
deer 2 -pronged /prɒŋd||prɔːŋd/ a) having the stated
number of prongs: a four-pronged fork b) (of an attack)
coming from a stated number of different directions at the
same time: a two-pronged attack
pro·nom·i·nal /prəʊ'nɒmɪʃənəl||-'nɑː-/ adj tech of or like a
pronoun —ly adv: a word used pronominally
pro·noun /'prəʊnaʊn/ n a word that is used in place of a
noun or a noun phrase, such as he instead of 'Peter' or
instead of 'the man' → see also DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUN,
PERSONAL PRONOUN
pro·nounce /prə'naʊns/ v 1 [T] to make the sound of (a
letter, a word etc): In the word 'knew', the 'k' is not
pronounced. | How do you pronounce your
name? 2 [T+obj+adj/n] to declare, especially officially or after
consideration: The doctor pronounced the man dead. | The
priest said, 'I now pronounce you man and wife.' 3 [+prep]
especially law to give judgment: The court pronounced against
my claim to the land. | (fig.) She's too ready to pronounce
on/upon matters of which she really knows very little.
pro·nounce·a·ble /prə'naʊnsəbəl/ adj (of a sound, a word
etc) that can be pronounced → opposite UNPRONOUNCEABLE
pro·nounced /prə'naʊnst/ adj very strong or noticeable: He
has very pronounced ideas on everything. | a pronounced limp
—ly /prə'naʊnsɪdli/ adv
pro·nounce·ment /prə'naʊnsmənt/ n a solemn declara-
tion or statement: The Pope made a pronouncement on the
subject of the war.
pron·to /'prɒntəʊ||'prɑːn-/ adv infml at once; very quickly:
Bring the ladder over here, (and) pronto!
pro·nun·ci·a·tion /prəˌnʌnsi'eɪʃən/ n 1 [C;U] the way in
which a language or a particular word is pronounced: the
right pronunciation 2 [S;U] a particular person's way of
pronouncing words or a language: excellent pronunciation
-proof → see WORD FORMATION TABLE
proof¹ /pruːf/ n 1 [C;U(of)] (a) way of showing that some-
thing is true; facts, information, documents etc, that prove
something: I believe what you say; I don't need any proof. |
[+that] Have you got any proof that you own this car/proof of
ownership? | to produce conclusive/definite proof | scientific
proof → see also BURDEN OF PROOF 2 [C] a test or trial of
quality, strength etc: A soldier's courage is put to the proof
in battle. 3 [C] tech a test copy made of something printed,
so that mistakes can be put right before the proper printing
is done 4 [U or after n] tech the standard of strength of some
kinds of alcoholic drink (compared with that of PROOF
SPIRIT): This gin is 15 per cent under proof. 5 [C] tech a) (in
MATHEMATICS) a test made of the correctness of a calcula-
tion b) (in GEOMETRY) the reasoning that shows a statement
(THEOREM) to be true 6 the proof of the pudding is in the
eating it is only possible to tell if something is good or bad
by testing, using, or experiencing it
proof² adj 1 [F+against] giving or having protection against
something harmful or unwanted: His honesty is proof
against any temptation. | (in comb.) a bullet-proof vest | a
waterproof coat | a soundproof room | an inflation-proof
pension → see also FOOLPROOF 2 [after n] (of certain types of
alcoholic drink) of the stated alcoholic strength in compari-
son with some standard: In the US, whiskey of 90 proof is
45% alcohol.
proof³ v [T(against)] to treat (especially cloth) in order to give
protection against something unwanted, especially water
proof·read /'pruːfˌriːd/ v -read /-red/ [I;T] to read and
correct the printer's proofs of (a book etc) —er n
,proof 'spirit n [U] a standard mixture of alcohol and water
with which the strength of certain alcoholic drinks is
compared for the purposes of taxation
Proops, Mar·jo·rie /pruːps, 'mɑːdʒəri||'mɑːr-/ (?1911-1996)
a British AGONY AUNT (=someone who gives advice to news-
paper readers about their personal problems), who wrote for
the DAILY MIRROR for many years
prop¹ /prɒp||prɑːp/ n a support placed to hold up something
heavy: The roof of the tunnel was supported by wooden
props. | (fig.) Her daughter was a prop to her during her illness.
→ see also PIT PROP
prop² v -pp- [T+obj+adv/prep] to support or keep in a leaning or
resting position: She propped up the baby's head by putting a