Definition of "prospector" [pros•pect•or]

• One who explores an area for mineral deposits or oil. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "BRIEF SYNOPSIS: An angry prospector is forced by aliens to hunt someone down."
• "The prospector is the advance agent of progress, civilization and prosperity."
• "The prospector is a man of small pretensions, of peaceful disposition, indomitable will, boundless perseverance, remarkable endurance, undoubted courage, irrepressible hopefulness, and unlimited hospitality He is the friend of every man till he has evidence that the man is his enemy, and he is the most respected man in the mining regions of the West."