prise

[prahyz]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR prise ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), prised, pris·ing, noun

prize³.

Can be confusedprise prize

prize

or prise

[prahyz]

verb (used with object), prized, priz·ing.

pry².

noun

leverage.

a lever.

Origin of prize

1350–1400; Middle English prise < Middle French: a hold, grasp < Latin pre(hē)nsa. See prize¹

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

Related Words for prise

leverage, crowbar, bar, pry, advantage, crow, prise

Examples from the Web for prise

Contemporary Examples of prise

For Churchill, politics and literature were two sides of the same career,” Rose writes, “impossible to prise apart.
Churchill Would Be Famous Today on the Strength of His Writing Alone
Anthony Paletta
June 16, 2014

Historical Examples of prise

Suppose your astonishment if a lady in an assembly were to offer you a prise?
Roundabout Papers
William Makepeace Thackeray
"It's one of those tins you prise up," said Marjorie jauntily.
A Patriotic Schoolgirl
Angela Brazil
Your prise d'armes must hurt you, I think, if you were not victorious.
Private Letters of Edward Gibbon (1753-1794) Volume 1 (of 2)
Edward Gibbon
Page 8, changed "clumsey" to "clumsy" and "prise" to "prize."
How to Become an Engineer
Frank W. Doughty
Come, she can hardly have 'lost' it, since I had to get a screwdriver to prise it out!
A Case in Camera
Oliver Onions

British Dictionary definitions for prise

prise

prize

verb (tr)

to force open by levering

to extract or obtain with difficultythey had to prise the news out of him

noun

rare, or dialect a tool involving leverage in its use or the leverage so employed

US and Canadian equivalent: pry

Word Origin for prise

C17: from Old French prise a taking, from prendre to take, from Latin prehendere; see prize 1

prize

noun

a reward or honour for victory or for having won a contest, competition, etc
(as modifier)prize jockey; prize essay

something given to the winner of any game of chance, lottery, etc

something striven for

any valuable property captured in time of war, esp a vessel

Word Origin for prize

C14: from Old French prise a capture, from Latin prehendere to seize; influenced also by Middle English prise reward; see price

prize

verb

(tr) to esteem greatly; value highly

Word Origin for prize

C15 prise, from Old French preisier to praise

prize

verb, noun

a variant spelling of prise

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

Word Origin and History for prise

prize

n.1

"reward," prise (c.1300 in this sense), from Old French pris "price, value, worth; reward" (see price (n.)). As an adjective, "worthy of a prize," from 1803. The spelling with -z- is from late 16c. Prize-fighter is from 1703; prize-fight from 1730 (prize-fighter from 1785).

prize

n.2

"something taken by force," mid-13c., prise "a taking, holding," from Old French prise "a taking, seizing, holding," noun use of fem. past participle of prendre "to take, seize," from Latin prendere, contraction of prehendere "lay hold of, grasp, seize, catch" (see prehensile). Especially of ships captured at sea (1510s). The spelling with -z- is from late 16c.

prize

"to estimate," 1580s, alteration of Middle English prisen "to prize, value" (late 14c.), from stem of Old French preisier "to praise" (see praise (v.)). Related: Prized; prizing.