reward
Americannoun
verb (used with object)
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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 current market environment justifies the risk — and will reward it.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 13, 2026
And a giveaway for coveted World Cup tickets—designed to reward early adopters—was bungled, users say.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026
Muchova's reward for her resilience is a meeting with Linda Noskova in the first all-Czech Grand Slam final.
From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026
For all the risks, several conservationists told AFP the potential reward of reestablishing an iconic species might be worth it.
From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026
Now that she had her reward in hand, the problem of what to do about the poor was, in her opinion, as solved as it needed to be.
From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood
Medicare Advantage rewards plans for identifying patients’ true health needs; doctors get paid according to a higher level of care being provided; and, most important, plans make money by keeping people healthy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
"With Jude, it's all about energy, passion, desire, drive and that's how he's getting his rewards," said Rooney.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
You can also save some for a bucket-list trip, but at least you’re taking advantage of some rewards in the moment.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026
However, even the comic book store isn’t exactly as fans may remember it and eagle-eyed viewers will find rewards.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026
By i860 the rewards offered for her capture totaled sixty thousand dollars.
From "Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad" by Ann Petry
Future hikes are anticipated, and with Xbox moving out of the picture, their efforts to monopolize the market seem likely to be rewarded and they’ll simply weather the complaints.
From Salon ● Jul. 13, 2026
Companies that manage to clear an increasingly high bar are being rewarded with big gains.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 10, 2026
The free-hitting Russian, 28, was rewarded for his persistence when he took his first set in four meetings with former world number one Djokovic to prolong the contest beyond the three-hour mark.
From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026
Their efforts were rewarded Thursday when Gil emerged from the rubble, as rescuers cheered, hugged and crowded around the man they worked so hard to save.
From Barron's ● Jul. 2, 2026
The symbolism escapes me, but the holder of the table's one uncracked egg was supposedly rewarded with a year of good luck.
From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris
“Instead of rewarding their business, StubHub sold them World Cup tickets that they either could not provide or on speculation, only to be stranded, in many cases, at the stadium gates without any recourse.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026
Filippenko added, "To see a clear effect of Einstein's general theory of relativity is always exciting, but seeing it for the first time in a supernova is especially rewarding."
From Science Daily ● Jul. 6, 2026
But the bank said arbitrators punished it for “truthfully advising the investing community about Bodner’s misconduct, while rewarding a wrongdoer whose claims would fail as a matter of law in any other forum.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
Ruto said the compensation was not a "price for life, pain or loss" and should not be seen as rewarding violence or criminality.
From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2026
During my thirty-four-year tenure as a climber, I’d found that the most rewarding aspects of mountaineering derive from the sport’s emphasis on self-reliance, on making critical decisions and dealing with the consequences, on personal responsibility.
From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer
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.
