Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun One who or that which prompts, or admonishes or incites to action.
  • noun Specifically A person stationed behind the scenes or in a covered box at the front of the stage in a theater, for the purpose of assisting the actors when they are at a loss by repeating to them the first words of a sentence; also, any person who aids a public speaker, etc., by suggesting words he may be at a loss for.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun One who, or that which, prompts; one who admonishes or incites to action.
  • noun One who reminds another, as an actor or an orator, of the words to be spoken next; specifically, one employed for this purpose in a theater.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective comparative form of prompt: more prompt
  • noun theater The person who does the prompting.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a device that displays words for people to read
  • noun someone who assists a performer by providing the next words of a forgotten speech

Etymologies

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Examples

  • The prompter is a safety net and a friendly face, allowing performers to concentrate more on their acting.

    It's Not Over 2008

  • So imperfect were they also in their parts, that the prompter was the only person from whom any single speech passed without a blunder.

    Camilla 2008

  • To singers, the convenient position of the prompter is a matter of real importance.

    A Book of the Play Studies and Illustrations of Histrionic Story, Life, and Character Dutton Cook 1856

  • So imperfect were they also in their parts, that the prompter was the only person from whom any single speech passed without a blunder.

    Camilla: or, A Picture of Youth 1796

  • And then there's Clinton, who drove his teleprompter operators crazy because even though the words on the prompter were his, he had a tendency to deviate to unscripted tangents whenever he got passionate and enthusiastic about what he was saying.

    Think Progress 2009

  • Either it has been inserted, by a printer's error, prematurely; or, more probably, it may be an instruction to the "prompter" to see that the properties needed in the next Scene are ready, which has crept from an acting version of the play into the Quartos.

    Bussy D'Ambois and The Revenge of Bussy D'Ambois George Chapman

  • In any case it is a kind of prompter of the poetic allusions that occupied the boys 'hours at school.

    Vergil Frank, Tenney, 1876-1939 1922

  • The Manual Works Prompter comes in two versions: a MINI prompter designed for general use, and a VIDEO prompter which is full-screen, and includes an option to ´flip´ the screen so you can easily make a ´through the lens´ prompter system for video cameras by adding just one angled sheet of clear plastic or glass.

    20 Newest Free Software Downloads - Freeware Files.com 2009

  • He doesn't have to pack the 'prompter', they're joined at the hip. moron | 3.6.09 @ 11: 04PM

    The American Spectator 2009

  • Part of my satisfaction was actually relief; "prompter" speeches are not John S. McCain's forte.

    Blogrunner 2008

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