prize
1 Americannoun
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a reward for victory or superiority, as in a contest or competition.
- Synonyms:
- premium
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something that is won in a lottery or the like.
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anything striven for, worth striving for, or much valued.
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something seized or captured, especially an enemy's ship and cargo captured at sea in wartime.
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the act of taking or capturing, especially a ship at sea.
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Archaic. a contest or match.
adjective
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having won a prize.
a prize bull; a prize play.
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worthy of a prize.
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given or awarded as a prize.
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being an excellent example of something, especially something undesirable.
He makes his daughter's husband feel like a prize idiot whenever they get together.
verb (used with object)
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to value or esteem highly.
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to estimate the worth or value of.
noun
noun
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a reward or honour for victory or for having won a contest, competition, etc
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( as modifier )
prize jockey
prize essay
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something given to the winner of any game of chance, lottery, etc
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something striven for
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any valuable property captured in time of war, esp a vessel
verb
verb
Usage
What are other ways to say prize?
To prize something is to value or esteem it highly. How is prize different from esteem, value, and appreciate? Find out on Thesaurus.com.
Synonym Usage
See reward.
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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prizesimple
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prizessimple
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have prizedperfect
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has prizedperfect
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am prizingprogressive
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are prizingprogressive
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is prizingprogressive
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have been prizingperfect progressive
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has been prizingperfect progressive
Past
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prizedsimple
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had prizedperfect
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was prizingprogressive
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were prizingprogressive
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had been prizingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of prize1
First recorded in 1250–1300; in senses referring to something seized, continuing Middle English prise “something captured, a seizing, requisition,” from Old French prise “capture (of a ship), booty,” from Vulgar Latin prēsa, prēnsa (unrecorded), from Latin pre(hē)nsa, noun use of feminine past participle of pre(he)ndere “to take, grasp, seize”; in senses referring to something won, spelling variant since the late 16th century of Middle English pris(e) price
Origin of prize2
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English prisen “to set a price, appraise,” from Middle French prisier, priser, variants of Old French preisier “to value, appraise”; see praise
Origin of prize3
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English noun prise, from Middle French prise “a hold, grasp,” from Latin pre(hē)nsa; see prize 1
Explanation
A prize is the reward or recognition a winner gets. When you win first prize in your state spelling bee, you might get a medal and a trip to the national competition in Washington, DC. Many prizes are given for hard work, athletic skill, or superior intellect, but it's also possible to win a prize from sheer good luck. The prize for a winning lottery ticket, for example, might be a million dollars. If your dog comes in first at an obedience competition, you can call her your "prize pup." And if you adore and value that dog more than anything else, you can say you prize her.
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.
Mr. Lewis, a finalist for the 2026 Pulitzer Prize in criticism, teaches architectural history at Williams College and writes about architecture for the Journal.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 27, 2026
Nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize last year, she has become one of the movement's most prominent leaders over the past decade.
From BBC • Jun. 24, 2026
The Google parent tumbled 5% on Monday after John Jumper, a senior research scientist and Nobel Prize winner, said he was leaving Google DeepMind for AI start-up Anthropic.
From Barron's • Jun. 23, 2026
On Friday, John Jumper, a Nobel Prize winner, also said he would leave Alphabet.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 22, 2026
Michelson was awarded a Nobel Prize in physics for the work–the first American so honored–but not for twenty years.
From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
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.
