premium

American  

[pree-mee-uhm] / ˈpri mi əm /

noun

• premiums
  plural

1. a prize, bonus, or award given as an inducement, as to purchase products, enter competitions initiated by business interests, etc.

2. a bonus, gift, or sum additional to price, wages, interest, or the like.

   Synonyms:

   reward

3. Insurance. the amount paid or to be paid by the policyholder for coverage under the contract, usually in periodic installments.

4. Economics. the excess value of one form of money over another of the same nominal value.

5. a sum above the nominal or par value of a thing.

6. the amount paid to the lender of stock by the borrower, typically a short seller.

7. the amount the buyer of a call or put option pays to the seller, quoted in dollars per share of stock.

8. a fee paid for instruction in a trade or profession.

9. a sum additional to the interest paid for the loan of money.

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adjective

1. of exceptional quality or greater value than others of its kind; superior.

   a wine made of premium grapes.

2. of higher price or cost.

3. of or relating to premiums.

   to work in premium sales.

idioms

1. at a premium,

   1. at an unusually high price.

   2. in short supply; in demand.

      Housing in that area is at a premium.

premium British  

/ ˈpriːmɪəm /

noun

1. an amount paid in addition to a standard rate, price, wage, etc; bonus

2. the amount paid or payable, usually in regular instalments, for an insurance policy

3. the amount above nominal or par value at which something sells

4. 1. an offer of something free or at a specially reduced price as an inducement to buy a commodity or service

   2. ( as modifier )

      a premium offer

5. a prize given to the winner of a competition; award

6. an amount sometimes charged for a loan of money in addition to the interest

7. great value or regard

   to put a premium on someone's services

8. a fee, now rarely required, for instruction or apprenticeship in a profession or trade

9. 1. in great demand or of high value, usually because of scarcity

   2. above par

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premium More Idioms  

1. see at a premium; put a premium on.

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Synonym Usage

See bonus.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonpremium
  noun
• superpremium
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• premiums
  plural

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."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

premium premiums

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

When credibility falls, the term premium, and so yields, should rise.

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

When booking a seat in first class or business class, try to avoid the last couple of rows in case there’s a last-minute switch to a smaller plane with fewer premium seats.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

I show him the new channels that I've programmed, and he gets angry because he's been paying for a year for premium services.

From "Counting by 7s" by Holly Goldberg Sloan

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

While some insurers are charging higher premiums, others are dropping condo HOAs and their owners altogether due to rising losses from natural disasters, such as hurricanes and wildfires, and increasing reinsurance costs.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026

You may make a fine employee or deserve low premiums or a good credit rating, but if your correlatives are perceived to be lacking in some way, you’ll have difficulty, too.

From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos

Related Words

• dividend
• fee
• stock
• value