Prostitute - Definition, Meaning & Synonyms

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SKIP TO CONTENT prostitute /ˌprɑstəˈtut/ /ˈprɒstɪtut/ IPA guide

Other forms: prostitutes; prostituted; prostituting

A prostitute is someone who gets paid to have sex — the word usually refers to a woman, but there are male prostitutes as well.

These days a prostitute is often called a sex worker, and there are many slang words, such as hooker and whore, that mean the same thing. A prostitute works for a pimp and her customers are called johns. You could say a woman is prostituting herself, or that the pimp is prostituting her. Sometimes people who hate their jobs feel like they're prostituting themselves, even though no sex is involved.

Definitions of prostitute

noun a woman who engages in sexual intercourse for money synonyms: bawd, cocotte, cyprian, fancy woman, harlot, lady of pleasure, sporting lady, tart, whore, woman of the street, working girl see moresee less types: show 6 types... hide 6 types... call girl a female prostitute who can be hired by telephone camp follower a prostitute who provides service to military personnel comfort woman, ianfu a woman forced into prostitution for Japanese servicemen during World War II demimondaine a woman whose sexual promiscuity places her outside respectable society floozie, floozy, hooker, hustler, slattern, street girl, streetwalker a prostitute who attracts customers by walking the streets white slave a woman sold into prostitution type of: adult female, woman an adult female person (as opposed to a man)
verb sell one's body; exchange sex for money see moresee less types: street-walk, streetwalk walk the streets in search of customers type of: sell exchange or deliver for money or its equivalent

Pronunciation US /ˌprɑstəˈtut/ UK /ˈprɒstɪtut/ Cite this entry Style: MLA

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Copy citation DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘prostitute'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback Word Family 2 million people are mastering new words. Master a word

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