Skip to main content
prostitute

prostitute

326 4.2
A person who has sex with other people for money
  • noun
  • /ˈprɒstɪtjuːt/
  • NSFW
: prostituta
  • She has worked as a prostitute in the city's red-light district for many years.
  • sex with prostitutes
  • customers of prostitutes
  • street prostitutes

And he got caught with prostitutes and had to resign.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • There was this girl, Elodia, she was a prostitute.

  • When I was 21, I went to a prostitute.

  • This is the guy that invited the prostitute to live with him.

  • But obviously that prostitute will always be white or foreign, right?

  • I am not a prostitute.

  • It's a film of a French prostitute who works freely in the city.

  • Do you mean Heather is a prostitute?

  • As the opinion mentions, he went to two bars; in the second one, he met a prostitute.

    Academic text (2017)
  • She is a prostitute in early Frontier California.

  • Additionally, the far reach of social media has changed the way prostitutes solicit business.

    Academic text (2012)

Synonyms

whore
vsprostitute
  • Offensive
569 9.3

An offensive word for a person who has sex for money

is the neutral term used to describe the same activity respectfully
hooker
vsprostitute
  • Offensive
308 9.0

A person who sells sex for money, often on the street

is the neutral, general description without informal tone
harlot
vsprostitute
  • Offensive
28 9.9

A woman who sells sex for money

is the contemporary neutral phrase without literary flavour
call girl
vsprostitute
  • NSFW
27 7.9

A woman who is paid to have sex and who arranges meetings by phone or online

is the general activity of exchanging sex for money without arranging detail
tart
vsprostitute
  • Offensive
25 9.9

A woman who sells sex, often used as an insult

is the plain, neutral description without rude connotations
gigolo
vsprostitute
  • NSFW
19 9.0

A man who gets money from a woman in return for sex

is the general description of selling sex not implying support role
courtesan
vsprostitute
  • NSFW
13 9.9

A woman who has sex with rich or powerful men for money, often in high society in the past

is the plain activity of selling sex without high social status implication
streetwalker
vsprostitute
  • NSFW
7 8.9

A person who offers sex for money on the street

covers selling sex generally, not the specific solicitation method
hustler
vsprostitute
  • NSFW
4 9.3

A person who offers sex for money on the street

is the general act of selling sex without stressing solicitation method
street girl
vsprostitute
  • NSFW
3 8.9

A woman who offers sex for money by standing in the street

is the broader activity of exchanging sex for money without location detail
working girl
vsprostitute
  • NSFW
2 8.6

A woman who sells sex for money

is the general, gender neutral description of selling sex
bawd
vsprostitute
  • Offensive
2 9.9

A woman who has sex with people for money

is the ordinary modern description, not an antiquated label
woman of the street
vsprostitute
  • Offensive
1 9.7

A woman who has sex for money or who lives on the streets

is the neutral definition without implying poverty or homelessness
cocotte
vsprostitute
  • Offensive
1 9.9

A woman who has sex for money and often lives in high society

is the same exchange without glamour or historical tone
callboy
vsprostitute
  • NSFW
1 9.9

A man who is paid to have sex with or spend time with someone

is the gender neutral term for exchanging sex for money
lady of pleasure
vsprostitute
  • NSFW
1 9.9

A woman who works as a prostitute

is the plain modern description without historic or literary colouring
cyprian
vsprostitute
  • NSFW
9.9

A woman who has sex with people for money

is the modern neutral expression without old fashioned colouring
sporting lady
vsprostitute
  • NSFW
9.9

A woman who has sex for money, used in older books

is the straightforward current term without old fashioned tone

Compounds

2 6.9

A person who used to have sex for money but no longer does

How High-Class

courtesan
  • NSFW
13 9.9
cocotte
  • Offensive
1 9.9
call girl
  • NSFW
27 7.9
prostitute
  • NSFW
326 4.2
streetwalker
  • NSFW
7 8.9

Surface Forms

prostitute singular
prostitutes plural

Etymology

Prostitute comes from old Latin parts pro- 'forward' and -stitute from statuere 'to set or place', so it first meant someone 'set forward' or 'exposed' for sale. So a prostitute is a person who sells sex or offers their body for money.