prizefight

American  

[prahyz-fahyt] / ˈpraɪzˌfaɪt /

Or prize fight

noun

1. a contest between boxers for a prize, a sum of money, etc.; a professional boxing match.

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prizefight British  

/ ˈpraɪzˌfaɪt /

noun

1. a boxing match for a prize or purse, esp one of the fights popular in the 18th and 19th centuries

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Other Word Forms

• prizefighter
  noun
• prizefighting
  noun

Etymology

Origin of prizefight

First recorded in 1695–1705

Example Sentences

"Watching the video, the officers look more like referees or audience members at a prizefight, not adults charged with the care and supervision of young people," Mr Bonta said at a press conference on Monday.

From BBC • Mar. 4, 2025

But round two won’t end with a bell, as in a prizefight.

From Washington Post • Apr. 7, 2022

A primary example was the prizefight champion Beau Jack.

From Golf Digest • Apr. 8, 2020

And yet recent critical comments by Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola have been greeted like entreaties to a prizefight, a battle royale.

From Washington Times • Oct. 23, 2019

Were this a prizefight, Bunderson was scoring a lot of punches.

From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel