prize

¹ American  

[prahyz] / praɪz /

noun

1. a reward for victory or superiority, as in a contest or competition.

   Synonyms:

   premium

2. something that is won in a lottery or the like.

3. anything striven for, worth striving for, or much valued.

4. something seized or captured, especially an enemy's ship and cargo captured at sea in wartime.

5. the act of taking or capturing, especially a ship at sea.

6. Archaic. a contest or match.

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adjective

1. having won a prize.

   a prize bull; a prize play.

2. worthy of a prize.

3. given or awarded as a prize.

4. being an excellent example of something, especially something undesirable.

   He makes his daughter's husband feel like a prize idiot whenever they get together.

prize ² American  

[prahyz] / praɪz /

verb (used with object)

prized, prizing

1. to value or esteem highly.

2. to estimate the worth or value of.

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prize ³ American  

[prahyz] / praɪz /

Or prise

noun

prized, prizing

1. pry.

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prize ¹ British  

/ praɪz /

noun

1. 1. a reward or honour for victory or for having won a contest, competition, etc

   2. ( as modifier )

      prize jockey

      prize essay

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

3. something striven for

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

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prize ² British  

/ praɪz /

verb

1. (tr) to esteem greatly; value highly

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prize ³ British  

/ praɪz /

verb

1. a variant spelling of prise

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Usage

What are other ways to say prize?

To prize something is to value or esteem it highly. How is prize different from esteem, value, and appreciate? Find out on Thesaurus.com.

Related Words

See reward.

Etymology

Origin of prize¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; in senses referring to something seized, continuing Middle English prise “something captured, a seizing, requisition,” from Old French prise “capture (of a ship), booty,” from Vulgar Latin prēsa, prēnsa (unrecorded), from Latin pre(hē)nsa, noun use of feminine past participle of pre(he)ndere “to take, grasp, seize”; in senses referring to something won, spelling variant since the late 16th century of Middle English pris(e) price

Origin of prize²

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English prisen “to set a price, appraise,” from Middle French prisier, priser, variants of Old French preisier “to value, appraise”; praise

Origin of prize³

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English noun prise, from Middle French prise “a hold, grasp,” from Latin pre(hē)nsa; prize ¹

Example Sentences

“My prized possession. Had it since I was a boy. Never read me a book, but by jiggers, I have a bookcase. The doggone doggonedest bookcase you ever did hear of, too.”

From Literature

First prize was the chance to paint the main window of Zambreno's Department Store.

From Literature

On a day CEO David Hopkinson doubled down on his assertion that Newcastle will be competing for the biggest prizes by 2030, the naive visitors looked a long way off in that first half.

From BBC

Three years after he was widely written off as yet another highly drafted NFL flop, Darnold enters this Sunday's Super Bowl as favorite to win the sport's biggest prize.

From Barron's

Bad Bunny’s win for album of the year at this year’s Grammy Awards marked the first time an album fully in Spanish won the prize.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• accolade
• advantage
• bonus
• bounty
• championship
• citation
• crown
• dividend
• gold
• honor
• inducement
• jackpot
• medal
• payoff
• purse
• reward
• scholarship
• title
• trophy
• windfall