reward
Americannoun
verb (used with object)
-
to recompense or requite (a person or animal) for service, merit, achievement, etc.
- Synonyms:
- remunerate, pay, compensate
-
to make return for or requite (service, merit, etc.); recompense.
noun
-
something given or received in return for a deed or service rendered
-
a sum of money offered, esp for help in finding a criminal or for the return of lost or stolen property
-
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
Related Words
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
- misreward verb (used with object)
- overreward verb
- rewardable adjective
- rewardableness noun
- rewardably adverb
- rewarder noun
- rewardless adjective
- superreward verb (used with object)
- unrewardable adjective
- unrewarded adjective
- well-rewarded adjective
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; regard
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.
Thousands of additional tips have poured into the Pima County Sheriff’s Department since last week, when Savannah Guthrie announced a $1-million reward for information that leads to the return of her mother.
From Los Angeles Times
Crypto firms want to pay the yields, which some of them call “rewards,” to encourage more consumers to buy the tokens, which are often a precursor to investing in other digital assets.
From Barron's
It was a new-look England as Wiegman is managing the return of several key players from injury, while rewarding those in form.
From BBC
Wall Street has been rewarding companies that are proving to get an AI boost.
From Barron's
Nor have they been willing to accept the injury risk for a competition that comes with no direct financial reward.
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.
