588
Thomas, J., dissenting
as a document related to an initial public offering. See § 10 of the 1933 Act, 15 U. S. C. § 77j(a)(3) (detailing information required in prospectus); § 5 of the 1933 Act, 15 U. S. C. § 77e(b) (requiring prospectus to be sent to buyers). In fact, the majority builds its entire argument on the proposition that it must give "prospectus" the same meaning in both §§ 10 and 12. Since § 10 assumes a narrower definition of prospectus, the majority believes that its definition must control that of § 12. Although the majority denies that it reads § 10 as a definitional section, it admits that § 10 "does instruct us what a prospectus cannot be if the Act is to be interpreted as a symmetrical and coherent regulatory scheme." Ante, at 569.
I agree with the majority that §§ 5 and 10 cannot embrace fully the broad definition of prospectus supplied by § 2(10) and used by § 12(2). I also recognize the general presumption that a given term bears the same meaning throughout a statute. See Brown v. Gardner, ante, at 118. But this presumption is overcome when Congress indicates otherwise. Here, there are several indications that Congress did not use the word "prospectus" in the same sense throughout the statute. First, § 2(10) defines "prospectus" to include not only a document that "offers any security for sale" (which is consistent with the majority's reading), but also one that "confirms the sale of any security." But the majority does not claim that § 10 uses the term "prospectus" to include confirmation slips. It would be radical to say that every confirmation slip must contain all the information that § 10 requires; only the documents accompanying an initial public offering must contain that information. Despite the majority's protestations, it is absolutely clear that the 1933 Act uses "prospectus" in two different ways. As a result, any justification for the majority's twisted reading of § 2(10) disappears.
Second, this understanding is reinforced by § 2's preface that its definitions apply "unless the context otherwise re-
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