bonus
Formsbonuses, bonusing, bonused
- 1An extra advantage or benefit that comes in addition to what was already expected.
Living close to the office is a real bonus during winter.
The job offered great pay, and the flexible hours were an added bonus.
UsageCommon in an added bonus and a nice bonus; the plural is bonuses.
Similarplus, perk, benefit, advantage, extra
Oppositedrawback, downside, disadvantage, minus
- 2An extra sum of money given as a premium or reward, such as to an employee or a shareholder.
The firm paid each employee a generous holiday bonus.
Shareholders received a bonus on top of their usual dividends.
UsageYou get, earn or receive a bonus, often named by time: a year-end bonus, a holiday bonus.
- 3Extra points added to a player's score based on performance, such as for time remaining at the end of a level.
Players earn a bonus for every enemy defeated before the timer runs out.
Finishing each stage without dying adds a large bonus to the final score.
UsageUsually a bonus for something: a bonus for each hit or for time left.
Note
Scorekeeping's use of the word: points awarded for how a player performed, beyond what the play itself earns. David Powell's review of Rygar in the January 1988 issue of Your Sinclair shows how conditional it can be: a bonus for every kill, but only for those notched up since the start of the current life.
Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- David Powell wrote a review of Rygar in Your Sinclair. en.wikipedia.org
- Issue 25 was cover-dated January 1988 but published on 10 December 1987. en.wikipedia.org
- The review describes a bonus for kills counted only since the current life began. en.wiktionary.org
Less common meanings
- 4One or more free throws awarded to a team once the opposing team has committed a set number of fouls.
Once the fouls piled up, the visitors were shooting in the bonus.
Drawing contact in the bonus, she went to the line for two shots.
UsageA team is in the bonus when its opponents are in the penalty.
Note
On a basketball court the word names a situation as much as a reward. A team is in the bonus once its opponents pass the per-period foul limit. From then on, ordinary defensive fouls bring free throws even when the player fouled was not shooting; double fouls are an exception.
Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- A team enters the bonus when its opponents exceed the applicable team-foul limit for the period. en.wikipedia.org
- Ordinary defensive fouls then produce free throws even when the fouled player was not shooting. assets.fiba.basketball
- Double fouls do not produce bonus free throws. official.nba.com
- 5To pay a person or body an extra sum as a reward or incentive, especially on top of regular wages.
Management chose to bonus the engineers who delivered ahead of schedule.
The bank bonused its top traders despite a difficult quarter.
UsageSpelled bonused or bonussed, and bonusing or bonussing.
Similarreward
Note
A verb that takes the one being paid as its direct object: a rating system bonuses owners, and piece-workers are bonused for meeting quotas. Bruce S. Elliott's The City Beyond (1991) records a civic use as well: by the 1870s, councils were bonusing railway lines by paying public grants to their promoters.
Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- Bruce S. Elliott wrote The City Beyond, first published in 1991. openlibrary.org
- Elliott describes municipal councils bonusing railway lines through grants to railway promoters by the 1870s. en.wiktionary.org
Showing meanings only.
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Origin
Borrowed from Latin bonus ("good"), and a doublet of bona.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- English bonus was borrowed from Latin bonus, meaning "good". en.wiktionary.org
- Bonus is a doublet of bona. en.wiktionary.org