reward
Americannoun
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rewards
plural
verb (used with object)
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rewards,
present (3rd person singular)
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rewarded,
past participle, past
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rewarding
present participle
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to recompense or requite (a person or animal) for service, merit, achievement, etc.
- Synonyms:
- remunerate, pay, compensate
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to make return for or requite (service, merit, etc.); recompense.
noun
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something given or received in return for a deed or service rendered
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a sum of money offered, esp for help in finding a criminal or for the return of lost or stolen property
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profit or return
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something received in return for good or evil; deserts
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psychol any pleasant event that follows a response and therefore increases the likelihood of the response recurring in the future
verb
Synonym Usage
Reward, prize, recompense imply something given in return for good. A reward is something given or done in return for good (or, more rarely, evil) received; it may refer to something abstract or concrete: a $50 reward; Virtue is its own reward. Prize refers to something concrete offered as a reward of merit, or to be contested for and given to the winner: to win a prize for an essay. A recompense is something given or done, whether as reward or punishment, for acts performed, services rendered, etc.; or it may be something given in compensation for loss or injury suffered, etc.: Renown was his principal recompense for years of hard work.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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rewardablenessnoun
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rewardernoun
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overrewardverb
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misrewardverb (used with object)
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superrewardverb (used with object)
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rewardableadjective
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rewardlessadjective
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unrewardableadjective
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unrewardedadjective
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well-rewardedadjective
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rewardablyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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rewardsimple
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rewardssimple
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have rewardedperfect
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has rewardedperfect
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am rewardingprogressive
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are rewardingprogressive
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is rewardingprogressive
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have been rewardingperfect progressive
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has been rewardingperfect progressive
Past
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rewardedsimple
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had rewardedperfect
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was rewardingprogressive
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were rewardingprogressive
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had been rewardingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of reward
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English (verb) rewarden originally, “to regard,” from Old North French rewarder “to look at,” variant of Old French reguarder; see origin at regard
Explanation
A reward is something you get for a job well done. If you study hard for that vocabulary test, an "A" might be the reward in your future. You can use reward as a verb, as when the mayor rewards a firefighter who saves a family from a terrible blaze, or as a noun, to talk about the actual payment or item that's given to the firefighter. People often offer a reward for the return of lost or stolen things, like bicycles or jewelry or dogs. Reward meant "a regarding" or "an observation" in the 1300's, but it soon came to mean "repayment for some service."
Vocabulary lists containing reward
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:
“If we can get policies in place that accurately price energy and reward people based on when they use energy, that would help,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026
Another defector, Russian army pilot Maksim Kuzminov, had flown his Mi-8 attack helicopter into Ukraine the previous year and turned it over to Kyiv for a $500,000 reward.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
“He waited until the last moment to take any action, and the court should not reward that behavior,” the filing stated, adding that Seaver “already has lawyers who appear to be anxious to represent him.”
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 12, 2026
This is not a common overtaking spot and from a McLaren point of view it was a move with no reward, only risk.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
Jimmy Bozart, the hero paperboy, was back in college in upstate New York, driving a new Oldsmobile given to him as a reward by a wealthy citizen.
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
This is the difference between an information ecosystem that rewards accuracy and one that rewards attention.
From Salon ● Oct. 15, 2026
Still, consumer advocates warn that introducing probabilistic rewards into daily retail purchases normalizes speculative risk in everyday life.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026
He said the goal was to create an experience that rewards both casual visitors and longtime fans.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026
Banks say that the fees are what power credit-card rewards, like cash back and travel points, and that passing the bill would force them to change those programs consumers love.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
We’ll never know what those pathetic rewards will be.
From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed
For the last several years, the market has rewarded companies when they announce a new, larger model, a larger data center, or a bigger AI-infrastructure commitment.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
The England international, 24, was already under contract until 2033 but is being rewarded for his performances following his emergence as one of Chelsea's key attacking players.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
They were rewarded with fish for the right answers.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
That type of training is called reinforcement learning and involves a model being rewarded for successfully completing a challenge.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
I was rewarded with an intense burst of euphoria that began in my feet and surged up my legs, spreading to my fingers and the tips of my ears.
From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson
When she sees a woman put a wig on and her "whole face lights up", it can be "very, very rewarding".
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
When they give raises, bosses tend to tell staff that “you’ve done a great job at work and I’m rewarding you,” said Neale Mahoney, an economics professor at Stanford University.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
After a wild and rewarding ride, these ships are back to a familiar place.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026
News has made over the past few years to focus the rankings more on rewarding schools that help students succeed after college and less for the caliber of students they admit on the front end.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026
I stomped off to the kitchen house, where I could hear the rats already at the manioc, rewarding my spite.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
