What does prostitute mean?
A prostitute is a person who provides sexual activity in exchange for payment. The term can be used neutrally in legal, journalistic, historical, and biographical contexts, although some speakers regard it as blunt or stigmatising; “sex worker” is a broader alternative often used in professional, public-health, and advocacy settings. As a verb, “to prostitute” describes working as a prostitute and has an important figurative use: to offer one's abilities, principles, or dignity in exchange for payment, favour, or advantage. Expressions such as “prostitute one’s talents” usually carry a negative judgement, suggesting that something valuable has been degraded or made subordinate to a base motive. The word is also encountered in the established phrase “prostitute oneself,” whether used literally or figuratively. Its history lies in older senses of offering a person or thing publicly for sale, so its figurative meaning follows naturally from the idea of placing something valuable on the market for gain.
A person who engages in sexual activity in exchange for payment.
"The memoir recounts the life of a sex worker in the city during the 1970s."
The historical term is often applied to women, though it can describe a person of any gender.
To work as a prostitute or, figuratively, to surrender principles, talents, or dignity for money, favour, or advantage.
"The charity warned that starving children would prostitute themselves to dubious lenders."
The figurative sense is commonly used with abstract nouns such as “talents,” “integrity,” “abilities,” and “honesty.”
The regular plural adds -s and is used for both women and men.
"The novel depicts two prostitutes who become friends in the same neighbourhood."
The word originally meant “to offer for sale” and was not always derogatory; its meaning became firmly sexual only later.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does prostitute come from?
The English word entered use in the late 16th century, initially meaning “to offer for sale” and sometimes “to expose publicly.” It comes through Medieval Latin from Latin prostituta, the feminine past participle of prostituere, “to expose for sale.” The sexual sense developed during the 17th century. Earlier English usage was not exclusively sexual and could be commendatory, but the modern term is overwhelmingly associated with payment for sexual activity.
Related word forms
How prostitute is actually used
The noun is often used with a feminine pronoun because the historical term has been predominantly applied to women, although people of any gender may work as prostitutes. “Sex worker” is a broader and often more neutral expression, encompassing workers in forms of sexual activity that may not fit the traditional definition.