reward
Americannoun
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rewards
plural
verb (used with object)
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rewards,
present (3rd person singular)
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rewarded,
past participle, past
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rewarding
present participle
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to recompense or requite (a person or animal) for service, merit, achievement, etc.
- Synonyms:
- remunerate, pay, compensate
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to make return for or requite (service, merit, etc.); recompense.
noun
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something given or received in return for a deed or service rendered
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a sum of money offered, esp for help in finding a criminal or for the return of lost or stolen property
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profit or return
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something received in return for good or evil; deserts
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psychol any pleasant event that follows a response and therefore increases the likelihood of the response recurring in the future
verb
Synonym Usage
Reward, prize, recompense imply something given in return for good. A reward is something given or done in return for good (or, more rarely, evil) received; it may refer to something abstract or concrete: a $50 reward; Virtue is its own reward. Prize refers to something concrete offered as a reward of merit, or to be contested for and given to the winner: to win a prize for an essay. A recompense is something given or done, whether as reward or punishment, for acts performed, services rendered, etc.; or it may be something given in compensation for loss or injury suffered, etc.: Renown was his principal recompense for years of hard work.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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rewardablenessnoun
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rewardernoun
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overrewardverb
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misrewardverb (used with object)
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superrewardverb (used with object)
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rewardableadjective
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rewardlessadjective
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unrewardableadjective
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unrewardedadjective
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well-rewardedadjective
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rewardablyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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rewardsimple
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rewardssimple
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have rewardedperfect
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has rewardedperfect
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am rewardingprogressive
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are rewardingprogressive
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is rewardingprogressive
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have been rewardingperfect progressive
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has been rewardingperfect progressive
Past
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rewardedsimple
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had rewardedperfect
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was rewardingprogressive
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were rewardingprogressive
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had been rewardingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of reward
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English (verb) rewarden originally, “to regard,” from Old North French rewarder “to look at,” variant of Old French reguarder; see origin at regard
Explanation
A reward is something you get for a job well done. If you study hard for that vocabulary test, an "A" might be the reward in your future. You can use reward as a verb, as when the mayor rewards a firefighter who saves a family from a terrible blaze, or as a noun, to talk about the actual payment or item that's given to the firefighter. People often offer a reward for the return of lost or stolen things, like bicycles or jewelry or dogs. Reward meant "a regarding" or "an observation" in the 1300's, but it soon came to mean "repayment for some service."
Vocabulary lists containing reward
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:
The company is also offering an unspecified reward for the return of the shipment.
From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026
When stress causes these neurons to become abnormally active, reward processing can be disrupted, potentially increasing vulnerability to anxiety and depression.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 26, 2026
I preferred the big cities—Pamplona, Logroño, Burgos, León—where I could limp into the town square and reward myself with museums, cathedrals, mushroom pinxtos or paella that could feed 35 people.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
In common with most companies involved in the buildout of AI infrastructure, Alibaba’s shareholders are being forced to weigh up whether the eventual payback will reward the upfront investment.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026
Following the swearing-in of Andrew Johnson as the seventeenth president, Stanton had issued a reward for Jefferson Davis and other Confederate officials, naming them as assassination conspirators.
From "Chasing Lincoln's Killer" by James L. Swanson
Bilt’s business rests on a simple premise: Consumers should build credit and earn rewards for what’s typically their single biggest expense — their rent or mortgage payment.
From Salon ● Sep. 1, 2026
Jain added that it was “silly that you can earn rewards buying a round of drinks at a bar, but not paying your rent every month.”
From Salon ● Sep. 1, 2026
In some cases, changes to rewards stem from the businesses card issuers are working with.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026
Perhaps last winter's omission focused his mind, allowing Joe Root to now reap the rewards.
From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026
Parents with money, education, and connections cultivate in their children the habits that the meritocracy rewards.
From "Class Matters" by The New York Times
Catcher Will Smith, who the Dodgers also activated from the IL Tuesday, put the ball in the air in his first four at-bats and was finally rewarded in the seventh inning with an RBI double.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
Restaurants often want to fill seats outside of peak lunch and dinner hours so opting for earlier or later sittings can be rewarded by a cheaper bill.
From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026
When the simulated environment rewarded smell, every region within the distributed system expanded while the neocortex became smaller.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 31, 2026
Unlike in the Treasury market, municipal bond investors are rewarded with higher yields by extending maturities.
From Barron's ● Aug. 29, 2026
It was a triumph, for which he was rewarded by his godmother with a laboratory of his own.
From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor
So going back to school wasn’t just more financially rewarding.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
I recommend watching Fabares anywhere you can; it’s always rewarding, whatever the context.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026
For a film as thoughtful as this one, further introspection is not only deserved, but wildly rewarding.
From Salon ● Aug. 24, 2026
"Most people are not inherently aggressive, but certain online conditions make aggressive behaviour easier, less accountable, and more rewarding," she said.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
In 2005, New York became one of a small group of states to tie college financing more closely to graduation rates, rewarding colleges more for moving students along than for simply admitting them.
From "Class Matters" by The New York Times
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.
