prize
1 Americannoun
-
a reward for victory or superiority, as in a contest or competition.
- Synonyms:
- premium
-
something that is won in a lottery or the like.
-
anything striven for, worth striving for, or much valued.
-
something seized or captured, especially an enemy's ship and cargo captured at sea in wartime.
-
the act of taking or capturing, especially a ship at sea.
-
Archaic. a contest or match.
adjective
-
having won a prize.
a prize bull; a prize play.
-
worthy of a prize.
-
given or awarded as a prize.
-
being an excellent example of something, especially something undesirable.
He makes his daughter's husband feel like a prize idiot whenever they get together.
verb (used with object)
-
prizes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
prized,
past participle, past
-
prizing
present participle
-
to value or esteem highly.
-
to estimate the worth or value of.
noun
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
verb
verb
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.
Synonym Usage
See reward.
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
prizesimple
-
prizessimple
-
have prizedperfect
-
has prizedperfect
-
am prizingprogressive
-
are prizingprogressive
-
is prizingprogressive
-
have been prizingperfect progressive
-
has been prizingperfect progressive
Past
-
prizedsimple
-
had prizedperfect
-
was prizingprogressive
-
were prizingprogressive
-
had been prizingperfect progressive
Future
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”; see 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; see prize 1
Explanation
A prize is the reward or recognition a winner gets. When you win first prize in your state spelling bee, you might get a medal and a trip to the national competition in Washington, DC. Many prizes are given for hard work, athletic skill, or superior intellect, but it's also possible to win a prize from sheer good luck. The prize for a winning lottery ticket, for example, might be a million dollars. If your dog comes in first at an obedience competition, you can call her your "prize pup." And if you adore and value that dog more than anything else, you can say you prize her.
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:
A generation raised to prize autonomy, environmentalism and minority rights now worries about rent, healthcare, debt and whether it will ever own anything.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
California Lottery officials are reminding players that the winner of a $1.53-million Powerball prize in San Diego County from the Feb. 21 drawing still hasn’t come forward.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
In large part because Koepka wasn’t on Tour last year, he hadn’t done enough to qualify for the signature events that offer $20 million in prize money.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
If a player from a participating U.S. lottery wins the jackpot, they may choose to receive the prize as an annuity, paid in 30 graduated payments over 29 years, or as a lump-sum payment.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
Vasiljevic had bought the hotel for $500 million, so the $5 million that he fronted for the prize fund was not a particular burden for him.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
Eric Hobsbawm’s ideological approach to history made him a prized figure on Britain’s academic left.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Some vineyards have been ripping out prized grapes as they sit on unsold bottles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
After all, fancams - zoomed-in videos focusing on a single celebrity - are a prized currency in K-pop communities.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
Instead, he traded for it after a Lakers game in the Forum parking lot back sometime in the mid- to late-1970s, giving up one of his prized possessions as a teenager living in South Gate:
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
Her voice, like Belhib’s, was tight, as if she prized words too much to waste any.
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
The Monster survey showed recent grads are prizing job security over career growth.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 3, 2026
If they do win this Sunday, they would be the first Venezuelan act to receive the honor in a category popular for prizing top acts like Maná, Shakira, Calle 13 and many more.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 31, 2025
And maybe, like we did back then, we can say sure, yes, while prizing every tomato we harvest and understanding that we don't have the staff to hold back the inevitable weed takeover.
From Salon ● May 21, 2023
By prizing spectacle over excellence, personal branding damages our personhood, Tish Harrison Warren argues.
From New York Times ● Jan. 30, 2023
Another thing I had in common with crows: our habit of prizing the poorest of riches.
From "Beyond the Bright Sea" by Lauren Wolk
He won two Nobel prizes and transformed our understanding of chemical bonds and the structure of proteins.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 7, 2026
Nearly all of FLAG’s revenue originates from individual donors, and most of that money is raised through a direct-mail sweepstakes operation that offers the chance to win prizes, in one case $1,000,000.
From Salon ● Aug. 1, 2026
Last month it won three prizes, including best documentary feature, at New York's Tribeca film festival.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
Our auto columnist Dan Neil tested the Emira 420 Sport at the company’s test track in England and discovered a car that still prizes physical connection over electronic intervention.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026
“Even all those prizes couldn’t have used up more than a little of it.”
From "Trouble at the Arcade (The Hardy Boys: Secret Files, #1)" by Franklin W. Dixon
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.
