prize
1 Americannoun
-
a reward for victory or superiority, as in a contest or competition.
- Synonyms:
- premium
-
something that is won in a lottery or the like.
-
anything striven for, worth striving for, or much valued.
-
something seized or captured, especially an enemy's ship and cargo captured at sea in wartime.
-
the act of taking or capturing, especially a ship at sea.
-
Archaic. a contest or match.
adjective
-
having won a prize.
a prize bull; a prize play.
-
worthy of a prize.
-
given or awarded as a prize.
-
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)
-
prizes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
prized,
past participle, past
-
prizing
present participle
-
to value or esteem highly.
-
to estimate the worth or value of.
noun
noun
-
-
a reward or honour for victory or for having won a contest, competition, etc
-
( as modifier )
prize jockey
prize essay
-
-
something given to the winner of any game of chance, lottery, etc
-
something striven for
-
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
-
prizesimple
-
prizessimple
-
have prizedperfect
-
has prizedperfect
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am prizingprogressive
-
are prizingprogressive
-
is prizingprogressive
-
have been prizingperfect progressive
-
has been prizingperfect progressive
Past
-
prizedsimple
-
had prizedperfect
-
was prizingprogressive
-
were prizingprogressive
-
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.
See Examples For:
Compare that with a big prize advertised five-and-a-half years ago.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
California Lottery officials are reminding players that the winner of a $1.53-million Powerball prize in San Diego County from the Feb. 21 drawing still hasn’t come forward.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
In defense, they prize founders who understand weapons, procurement and the Pentagon.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
But last year, for the series’ fourth season, Short beat White for the Actor Award, his biggest prize after the 1999 Tony he won for musical “Little Me.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
But now that he was on a mission so focused on finding such a long-sought-after prize, he realized that the tall piece of wood could well have been a mast.
From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler
"Not a single blow is random," he explains as a trio of craftsmen land expert strikes that create the darker more complex tones so prized by jazz drummers.
From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026
First Minister John Swinney described the building as "an iconic landmark" and a "prized part of Edinburgh's identity and heritage".
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026
Instead, he traded for it after a Lakers game in the Forum parking lot back sometime in the mid- to late-1970s, giving up one of his prized possessions as a teenager living in South Gate:
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
The arrangement would give Pacific Coast Energy access to several oil fields, including some identified as among the country’s most prized, the person said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
The older woman thought Maggie’s letters “sweet and touching” and approved of the couple, “What is more to be prized than a pure, devoted heart?”
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
The Monster survey showed recent grads are prizing job security over career growth.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 3, 2026
Netflix was sometimes criticized for prizing quantity over quality in its film strategy, a knock that Mr. Stuber acknowledged.
From New York Times ● Jan. 22, 2024
No one would argue that film, as an art form or a business, benefited from the prizing of the few to the detriment of the many.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 13, 2023
And maybe, like we did back then, we can say sure, yes, while prizing every tomato we harvest and understanding that we don't have the staff to hold back the inevitable weed takeover.
From Salon ● May 21, 2023
Her dæmon was already prizing up one of the heavy old tiles.
From "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman
The California Lottery has raised more than $1.1 billion for public schools in unclaimed prizes since 1985 when tickets first went on sale.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
He won two Nobel prizes and transformed our understanding of chemical bonds and the structure of proteins.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 7, 2026
Despite their reluctance to move quickly in Venezuela, many executives say the potential prizes are huge, particularly for companies that typically drill in places that can pump oil for decades.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
Spain and Lamine Yamal have grown through the tournament to leave him with the world at his feet and football's two greatest prizes in his pocket.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
The minute the Shadow Queen grasped her prizes, her shadows flocked to her.
From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova
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.
