prototype

/ˌproʊdəˈtaɪp/

/ˈprʌʊtəʊtaɪp/

Other forms: prototypes

A prototype is the original model, a sample on which to base future designs. A company designing a new toaster will first design and build a prototype and then test it out and see if it's any good.

A prototype is your test case and becomes the model on which to base the design of the finished product. Often, however, the prototype can be a phase to work out the bugs. The prototype of our hands-free toothbrush was too dangerous; it needed to return to the lab for serious improvements. Like the word archetype, the word prototype can also mean the standard on which to base a definition of something. "A prototypical cheerleader is the girl to which all other cheerleaders might aspire."

Definitions of prototype

1. noun

   a standard or typical example
   “he is the prototype of good breeding”

   synonyms: epitome, image, paradigm

   types:

   concentrate

   a concentrated example of something

   imago

   (psychoanalysis) an idealized image of someone (usually a parent) formed in childhood

   type of:

   example, model

   a representative form or pattern
2. noun

   the first functional model of some new design or product
   type of:

   archetype, original, pilot

   something that serves as a model or a basis for making copies