bounty
noun
a premium or reward, especially one offered by a government.
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Bounti.
bounty
American
[boun-tee]
/ ˈbaʊn ti /
noun
-
bounties
plural
-
a premium or reward, especially one offered by a government.
There was a bounty on his head. Some states offer a bounty for dead coyotes.
-
a generous gift.
- Synonyms:
- benefaction, present
-
generosity in giving.
- Synonyms:
- munificence, beneficence, charity, liberality
bounty
1
British
/ ˈbaʊntɪ /
noun
-
generosity in giving to others; liberality
-
a generous gift; something freely provided
-
a payment made by a government, as, formerly, to a sailor on enlisting or to a soldier after a campaign
-
any reward or premium
a bounty of 20p for every rat killed
Bounty
2
British
/ ˈbaʊntɪ /
noun
Usage
What does bounty mean? A bounty is a reward, especially one offered in an official way for the capture of someone or something. This sense of the word most often refers to the reward sought by bounty hunters for tracking down and capturing fugitive criminals (or, in older times, killing them). A more recent use of the word refers to the reward offered for identifying a software vulnerability in a company’s or organization’s system. In a broader sense, the word bounty means a generous gift or generosity in general. This sense of the word is most often used in a poetic way, such as referring to crops as the bounty of the land. The H. M. S. Bounty, the ship aboard which the notorious mutiny occurred, was probably named after this sense of the word. Example: The bounty offered for the capture of Billy the Kid was $500—dead or alive.
Synonym Usage
See bonus.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of bounty
1200–50; Middle English b ( o ) unte < Anglo-French, Old French bonte, Old French bontet < Latin bonitāt- (stem of bonitās ) goodness. See boon 2, -ity
Explanation
If there is bounty on your table, it means you have a wide variety and large quantity of food. If there's a bounty on your head, it means the government has put out a reward for your capture. Bounty derives from the Latin bonus "good." Both meanings of bounty are connected with the idea of generosity, giving. A government known for its bounty will probably set a large bounty on the head of a murderer at large.
Vocabulary lists containing bounty
May the 4th Be With You: Star Wars Words
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The Balcony Scene from "Romeo and Juliet"
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"The Odyssey" by Homer, Books 19–24
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
He remains at large, with a $50,000 Federal Bureau of Investigation bounty on his head.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
At a time when drama has come to depend on celebrity leads and commercial hype, this bounty of understated excellence is heartening.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
Along the way she teams up with Ruthye Marye Knoll, played by Ridley, and bounty hunter Lobo, played by Jason Momoa.
From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026
In 1968 the leopard bounty ended and the leopard population began to recover as conservation efforts grew.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 24, 2026
In the irregular light the bounty hunter seemed a medium man, not impressive.
From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick
Now the maker of Tide detergent and Bounty paper towels has to find ways to keep momentum as Americans squeezed by inflation try to stretch budgets and find value.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
"To date, CMDR's Bounty Project, which pays a financial reward to licensed commercial fishers for marine debris removal, has removed 84 tons of large, derelict fishing gear from the Pacific Ocean."
From Science Daily ● Jun. 28, 2026
The Pitcairn Islands has a population of about 50 people and most of the residents are descendants of mutineers from the Royal Navy warship HMS Bounty who settled there in 1790.
From BBC ● May 13, 2026
The company, whose signature brands include Tide detergent and Bounty paper towels, derives of about half of its sales from the U.S.
From Barron's ● Mar. 5, 2026
“It was just an auto-reply. According to my messages, I received the first call-in from another hunter on location. Bounty goes to the first, no exceptions.”
From "Warcross" by Marie Lu
He never saw protection of domestic manufacturing as a long-term policy but rather insisted that “continuance of bounties on manufactures long established must almost always be of questionable policy.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
She told BBC News that, for now, AI tools were helping her to win "bug bounties" - money given to hackers who spot vulnerabilities in online systems before they can be exploited by cyber-criminals.
From BBC ● May 27, 2026
Seeing these bounties during the season of giving is especially poignant for me.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 18, 2024
Come dinnertime at 5 p.m., its menu shifts to family-style meals, featuring a large seafood lineup with bounties from its live fish tanks.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 8, 2024
I’ve lost four bounties in a row this month.
From "Warcross" by Marie Lu
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
