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:
"Investors will reward growth and monetisation, yet they're also becoming more sensitive to how the next leg of investment is financed and what it means for existing shareholders."
From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 2026
If that’s where we are now with AI, is the risk offset by the potential reward?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026
If the voting criteria is to reward the year’s finest movies, the answer would be an unqualified yes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2026
For an elite athlete, pulling on Olympic kit can be the reward for years of sacrifice.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
He also hoped to precede the rest of the cavalry and stake the first claim to the reward money.
From "Chasing Lincoln's Killer" by James L. Swanson
This is the difference between an information ecosystem that rewards accuracy and one that rewards attention.
From Salon ● Oct. 15, 2026
Still, consumer advocates warn that introducing probabilistic rewards into daily retail purchases normalizes speculative risk in everyday life.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026
He said the goal was to create an experience that rewards both casual visitors and longtime fans.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026
Banks say that the fees are what power credit-card rewards, like cash back and travel points, and that passing the bill would force them to change those programs consumers love.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
Life becomes sufficient unto life; the rewards of living are found in living.
From "Native Son" by Richard Wright
Others say the market has rewarded AI stocks indiscriminately, even though some of them—especially memory-chip makers and cloud companies—are more speculative.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026
For the last several years, the market has rewarded companies when they announce a new, larger model, a larger data center, or a bigger AI-infrastructure commitment.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
They were rewarded with fish for the right answers.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
We want to believe in the Hollywood fairy tale that talent will be rewarded.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
His vigilance was rewarded on the fourth day.
From "A Single Shard" by Linda Sue Park
An extraordinary you-are-there creation, it’s the documentary impulse at its most rewarding.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026
For much of the past half-century, capital has grown faster than wages, rewarding people who owned financial assets more than those who relied on their paychecks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
It’s hard to move the needle at a market value of $5.5 trillion, both in terms of a company getting bigger and rewarding shareholders.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
News has made over the past few years to focus the rankings more on rewarding schools that help students succeed after college and less for the caliber of students they admit on the front end.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026
The Preacher said, “Naw, Leroy, this is something that’s meant to be. The Lord’s putting all the pieces together for you here. He’s rewarding your good works. He’s seeing you get what you deserve.”
From "Elijah of Buxton" by Christopher Paul Curtis
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