bonus

[ boh-nuhs ]

/ ˈboʊ nəs /

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noun, plural bo·nus·es.

something given or paid over and above what is due.

a sum of money granted or given to an employee, a returned soldier, etc., in addition to regular pay, usually in appreciation for work done, length of service, accumulated favors, etc.

something free, as an extra dividend, given by a corporation to a purchaser of its securities.

a premium paid for a loan, contract, etc.

something extra or additional given freely: Every purchaser of a pound of coffee received a box of cookies as a bonus.

Nearby words

bontebuck, bontempelli, bontemps, bontoc, bontok, bonus, bonus army, bonus baby, bonus eventus, bonus issue, bonxie

Origin of bonus

1765–75; < Latin: good

SYNONYMS FOR bonus

1 reward, honorarium, gift.

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Synonym study

1, 2. Bonus, bounty, premium refer to something extra beyond a stipulated payment. A bonus is a gift to reward performance, paid either by a private employer or by a government: a bonus based on salary; a soldiers' bonus. A bounty is a public aid or reward offered to stimulate interest in a specific purpose or undertaking and to encourage performance: a bounty for killing wolves. A premium is usually something additional given as an inducement to buy, produce, or the like: a premium received with a magazine subscription. See also present².

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for bonus

And as a bonus, they send home more than $20 billion in remittances each year.
Why Mexicans Are Enraged by Obama’s Big Tuesday Meeting|Ruben Navarrette Jr.|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
When they steal things, they want to get all the bonus points.
The Insane $11 Billion Scam at Retailers’ Return Desks|M.L. Nestel|December 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Prosecutors say the two then promised that employee a $10,000 bonus, which was promptly paid.
Obama’s Golf Buddy May Be a ‘Hostile Witness’ in Chicago Corruption Case|Ben Jacobs|December 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And bonus points for the school bus that burst into flames with the comic timing of a Simpsons gag.
The Walking Dead’s ‘Self Help’: A Grim Show Displays Its Comedy Streak, and A Major Reveal|Melissa Leon|November 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Salem the prep school kid felt so slighted by a paltry $3 million bonus in 2011 that he left the firm.
Too Big to Jail: Confessions of a Goldman Sachs Brat|Michael Daly|June 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
On this basis no one could get a bonus unless he did 100 per cent better than the average previously attained.
Cyclopedia of Commerce, Accountancy, Business Administration v. 2|Various
A whale, of which the whalebone blades are six feet or upwards in length; the harpooner gets a bonus for striking a "size-fish."
The Sailor's Word-Book|William Henry Smyth
For an awful moment Jerry was afraid he was not going to get a bonus for paying the bill.
Jerry's Charge Account|Hazel Hutchins Wilson
Indeed, the adoption of a bonus system is often an excuse for driving and tyranny.
A Rational Wages System|Henry Atkinson
Literary shareholders to the amount of 500 and upwards will be entitled to a preferential boom by way of bonus.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 107, October 6, 1894|Various

British Dictionary definitions for bonus

bonus

/ (ˈbəʊnəs) /

noun

something given, paid, or received above what is due or expecteda Christmas bonus for all employees

mainly British an extra dividend allotted to shareholders out of profits

insurance, British a dividend, esp a percentage of net profits, distributed to policyholders either annually or when the policy matures

British a slang word for a bribe

Word Origin for bonus

C18: from Latin bonus (adj) good

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

bonus

noun, plural bo·nus·es.

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Nearby words

Origin of bonus

SYNONYMS FOR bonus

Synonym study

Examples from the Web for bonus

British Dictionary definitions for bonus

bonus

noun

Word Origin for bonus