The term “prompt” has several meanings depending on context:
1. As a verb, “to prompt” means to cause or provoke an action or response, or to assist someone by suggesting what to say or do next (e.g., cueing an actor or encouraging a user to input data) [2][4][5].
2. In computing, a “prompt” is a message or symbol displayed to a user to elicit input, such as the JavaScript `window.prompt()` method that opens a dialog box for user text entry and returns the input or null if canceled [1][5].
3. In AI and language models, a “prompt” is the input text or instructions given to the model to generate a desired output, a central concept in prompt engineering which involves designing effective prompts to guide AI behavior [3].
4. As an adjective, “prompt” means quick or immediate in action or response [2][4].
Additionally, “Prompt” can refer to a Thai and Latin typeface [6], or to the name of specific companies and training programs unrelated to the general meaning of the word [7][8].
These definitions show “prompt” as an action to induce or encourage, a message or cue requesting input, and the input text guiding AI models.
