award
Americanverb (used with object)
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awards,
present (3rd person singular)
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awarded,
past participle, past
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awarding
present participle
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to give as due or merited; assign or bestow.
to award prizes.
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to bestow by judicial decree; assign or appoint by deliberate judgment, as in arbitration.
The plaintiff was awarded damages of $100,000.
noun
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awards
plural
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something awarded, as a payment or medal.
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Law.
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a decision after consideration; a judicial sentence.
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the decision of arbitrators on a matter submitted to them.
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verb
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to give (something due), esp as a reward for merit
to award prizes
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law to declare to be entitled, as by decision of a court of law or an arbitrator
noun
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something awarded, such as a prize or medal
an award for bravery
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(in Australia and New Zealand) the amount of an award wage (esp in the phrase above award )
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law
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the decision of an arbitrator
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a grant made by a court of law, esp of damages in a civil action
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Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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awardabilitynoun
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awardeenoun
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awardernoun
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superawardnoun
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misawardverb (used with object)
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awardableadjective
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unawardableadjective
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unawardedadjective
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well-awardedadjective
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awardableadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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awardsimple
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awardssimple
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have awardedperfect
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has awardedperfect
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am awardingprogressive
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are awardingprogressive
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is awardingprogressive
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have been awardingperfect progressive
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has been awardingperfect progressive
Past
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awardedsimple
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had awardedperfect
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was awardingprogressive
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were awardingprogressive
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had been awardingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of award
First recorded in 1250–1300; (for the verb) Middle English awarden, from Anglo-French awarder; equivalent to a- 4 + ward; (for the noun) Middle English, from Anglo-French, derivative of awarder
Explanation
The noun award refers to a prize of some kind that indicates you’ve done well and achieved an honor. The verb form of award describes giving out one of these honors. So your teacher may award you the Math Genius award. Award can be something given out by a court of law. For example, a judge might give you a monetary award when you win a lawsuit. Award can also be something you get when you're the big winner. The state lottery commission might award you $35 when you hit the lottery. Award comes from the Old English word weardian, meaning “guard” — which is exactly what you should do with that $35.
Vocabulary lists containing award
Common Five-letter Words for Wordle, List 1
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Academy Awards, List 1
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"Dr. Seuss" by Jill Foran
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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:
Other parents’ choices didn’t cause Najya’s teachers to leave assignments uncorrected, lower expectations, or award A’s for below-grade work.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026
Once the budget passed, lawmakers’ staff leaned on Navy officials to award Navatek the money.
From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026
Cassius accepted the hero award from the city of Miami Police Department at a ceremony recognizing his bravery on Wednesday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
Evans said that Russell "loves to celebrate him and she's his biggest supporter", and was "just cheering, whooping, hands in the air" after his award wins.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
Who won that award for their writing or their art.
From "On the Come Up" by Angie Thomas
The highly anticipated genre-busting film has already generated strong Oscar buzz, with some awards prognosticators predicting that it could squeeze into the best picture category for the first time in Academy Awards history.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026
However, she soon went on to cement herself as one of Hollywood’s most talented stars with her role in the HBO teen drama series “Euphoria,” for which she won two Emmy awards.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026
Evans told Owen that she unexpectedly burst into tears while watching his Emmy awards being engraved, saying that was the moment it "sank in".
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
She has won awards for her reporting from the New York Press Club and Newswomen's Club of New York.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026
“I won awards for my work on the school newspaper. And I’m a member of the National Honor Society.”
From "Beauty Queens" by Libba Bray
But none of those gold medal performances earned one of the 50,000 euro 'Gold Crown' bonuses awarded by the organisers.
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026
This haywire sport has a rich tradition of pay-for-play cupcakes—small time programs awarded a check for three hours of missing tackles against a large-conference behemoth.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026
After five rounds, the judges awarded the fight to the Van by unanimous decision, with scores of 49-46, 49-47 and 50-45.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 2026
The relationship between axon structure and function also became the focus of a National Institute of Mental Health Multiple Principal Investigator grant awarded to Watanabe and Rangamani and highlighted in 2024.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 17, 2026
Burnham had awarded the boat concession to a company called the Electric Launch and Navigation Company, which had produced a lovely electric vessel of exactly the character Olmsted wanted.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
Late last year, American stopped awarding frequent-flier miles to basic-economy ticket buyers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
This spring, DRL staff were initially told to begin the process of awarding funds to Lex Libertas, a South African organization founded by a prominent member of the nation’s white Afrikaner movement.
From Salon ● Jul. 21, 2026
In 2007, Taco Bell heavily advertised new products such as a Cheesy Beefy Melt, its value meals and a Major League Baseball promotion awarding free tacos.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
But she said there was "no evidence of cronyism or corruption" by ministers or other officials when awarding the final contracts.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
The next morning, Zach, Britney, and Wayne perform monologues for a panel of judges awarding college scholarship money.
From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove
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.
