premium
Americannoun
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premiums
plural
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a prize, bonus, or award given as an inducement, as to purchase products, enter competitions initiated by business interests, etc.
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a bonus, gift, or sum additional to price, wages, interest, or the like.
- Synonyms:
- reward
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Insurance. the amount paid or to be paid by the policyholder for coverage under the contract, usually in periodic installments.
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Economics. the excess value of one form of money over another of the same nominal value.
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a sum above the nominal or par value of a thing.
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the amount paid to the lender of stock by the borrower, typically a short seller.
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the amount the buyer of a call or put option pays to the seller, quoted in dollars per share of stock.
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a fee paid for instruction in a trade or profession.
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a sum additional to the interest paid for the loan of money.
adjective
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of exceptional quality or greater value than others of its kind; superior.
a wine made of premium grapes.
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of higher price or cost.
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of or relating to premiums.
to work in premium sales.
idioms
noun
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an amount paid in addition to a standard rate, price, wage, etc; bonus
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the amount paid or payable, usually in regular instalments, for an insurance policy
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the amount above nominal or par value at which something sells
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an offer of something free or at a specially reduced price as an inducement to buy a commodity or service
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( as modifier )
a premium offer
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a prize given to the winner of a competition; award
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an amount sometimes charged for a loan of money in addition to the interest
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great value or regard
to put a premium on someone's services
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a fee, now rarely required, for instruction or apprenticeship in a profession or trade
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in great demand or of high value, usually because of scarcity
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above par
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Synonym Usage
See bonus.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of premium
First recorded in 1595–1605, premium is from the Latin word praemium profit, reward
Explanation
Something that's premium is much better than average — it's excellent, in fact. A premium seat at a rock concert is right up front, with a great view of the stage. When premium is a noun, it means the money you pay each month for your car insurance or a charge that's added on top of a standard payment. It also means a prize or reward. As an adjective, premium implies something of superior quality that probably costs more too. Premium comes straight out of Latin, meaning “reward.” It was first used as an adjective around 1925, in the phrase "premium butter."
Vocabulary lists containing premium
Personal Finance and Financial Literacy - High School
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Personal Finance and Financial Literacy - Middle School
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"Principles of Business," Vocabulary from Chapter 14
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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:
Rather than buy Bitcoin directly, people are paying a premium to purchase Strategy’s securities—securities whose value comes only from the company’s Bitcoin holdings.
From Slate ● Sep. 20, 2026
Where it gets trickier is when we look at the best guess of credibility, the term premium.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026
Their attempt to show they paid a price premium also fell short.
From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2026
Customers this week snapped up limited-time gear from Starbucks’s “Peanuts” fall collection and McDonald’s new “SpongeBob SquarePants” toys — and now they’re being resold online for a premium.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 19, 2026
Burry made his semiannual premium payments and, in return, received protection against the default of a billion dollars’ worth of bonds.
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
O’Reilly and AutoZone’s recent slumps leave them at modest premiums to their respective trailing 10-year averages of price to forward sales.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026
Lake views are a hot commodity in the community, and buyers pay steep premiums for properties with unobstructed sightlines.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
As home-insurance premiums hit new highs, condo owners are seeing surging HOA fees as their buildings’ rising insurance costs are passed on to the residents.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026
Related: Home-insurance premiums just hit a record high.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 14, 2026
He recommended that Ned also consider insuring Pearl’s life and offered to pay the initial premiums.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
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.
