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Glite Dictionary
🍴 A pointed part 🗡️ To pierce
prong

prong

19 4.3
A thin pointed part on things like a fork or antler
  • noun
  • /prɔŋ/
translation icon : púa
  • You attach it to the file folder on this two-prong fastener.
  • three-prong
  • two-prong
  • first prong

The outlet for the mill wouldn't work, but it turns out that the four prong outlet for the lathe.

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Examples

  • But in a lot of older houses they don't have three prong plugs.

  • As a result, 3PAR was "seen as a critical prong" in Dell's efforts to expand its business beyond PCs.

    Academic text (2017)

  • The ground prong has to go in first to unlock these doors.

  • The Judicial Conference of the United States acted on the first prong earlier this year.

    Academic text (2003)

  • Now, you know, the prongs are a different level from all the others.

  • Now, there are two main prongs.

    Merchant Ivory (2024)

  • Just plug the thing in with all the prongs in the right place.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • Gingerly, he moved his head and felt the prongs click back into place.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • Well, look, we have free Wi-Fi and three-prong outlets out the wazoo.

    Get a Job (2016)

  • The chef carefully arranged the vegetables on the plate using a fork with sharp prongs.

Synonyms

spike
vsprong
58 3.6

A long thin pointed part on something like a shoe or fence

is usually one of several shorter projections on an object rather than long
tine
vsprong
6 8.1

A sharp point on a fork, pitchfork, or antler

is used more broadly for thin pointed projections across objects
spur
vsprong
5 5.4

A sharp pointed part that sticks out from a plant or animal

is the broader term for thin projections whether short or long
zinke
vsprong
  • Archaic
9.9

A pointed part on things like a fork or an antler

is the common general word for such thin pointed projections

Compounds

prong collar
  • Specialized
1 7.8

A dog collar with blunt metal points that press the neck to help train the dog

How Pointed

spike
58 3.6
point
550 1.0
prong
19 4.3
nub
12 6.9

Surface Forms

prong singular
prongs plural

Etymology

Prong probably comes from old words meaning a 'point' or 'spike', and it names one of the thin, pointed parts that stick out from a fork, antler, or plug, so you can remember it as the small 'point' that sticks out.