bounty

American  

[boun-tee] / ˈbaʊn ti /

noun

plural

bounties

1. 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.

2. a generous gift.

   Synonyms:

   benefaction, present

3. generosity in giving.

   Synonyms:

   munificence, beneficence, charity, liberality

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bounty ¹ British  

/ ˈbaʊntɪ /

noun

1. generosity in giving to others; liberality

2. a generous gift; something freely provided

3. a payment made by a government, as, formerly, to a sailor on enlisting or to a soldier after a campaign

4. any reward or premium

   a bounty of 20p for every rat killed

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Bounty ² British  

/ ˈbaʊntɪ /

noun

1. a British naval ship commanded by Captain William Bligh, which was on a scientific voyage in 1789 between Tahiti and the West Indies when her crew mutinied

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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.

Related Words

See bonus.

Other Word Forms

• bountyless adjective

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

Example Sentences

Venezuela’s government estimates that the country has about 300 billion barrels of oil in reserves, which, if true, would make it the largest oil bounty on the planet.

From The Wall Street Journal

Beijing is no less interested than Washington in South America’s resource bounty and arguably more interested in its infrastructure, investing in 23 ports across the region, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

From Barron's

But the distribution is uneven, with the bounty largely going to higher-income households.

From The Wall Street Journal

It’s never been more challenging and expensive to live in California, a place of great bounty that often exacts in dollars and stress what it offers in opportunity and wondrous beauty.

From Los Angeles Times

Venezuela’s government says its proved oil reserves top 300 billion barrels which, if true, would make its bounty the world’s largest.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• donation
• gift
• largess
• premium
• prize
• reward