# prize

Pronunciation: say "PRYZ" /pɹaɪz/

## Noun

1. Something given as a reward to the winner of a contest, competition or lottery, or to honor an achievement.
   - Simple: Something you get for winning a game, contest or lottery, or for doing something very well.
   - _The committee awarded the grand prize to an unknown poet._
   - _Each prize was designed to reward months of hard work._
3. Something worth striving for; a valuable thing one holds or hopes to gain.
   - Simple: Something worth working toward, or something valuable that you already have or hope to get.
   - _For the young lawyer, a partnership at the firm was the real prize, worth every late night._
   - _To her, his trust was a prize she would never risk losing._
4. Property captured from an enemy under the rights of war, especially a ship taken at sea.
   - Simple: A ship or goods taken from the enemy during a war.
   - _The frigate towed its prize into the harbor under armed guard._
   - _Captured as a prize, the merchant ship was later sold at auction._
7. Something taken from another by force, cunning, or greater power; a thing seized or captured.
   - Simple: Something taken from someone else by force or trickery.
   - _The victorious army carried off its prize from the fallen city._
   - _The hawk clutched its prize tightly as it flew back to the nest._
9. A lever or pry bar; also, the purchase or hold that a lever obtains.
   - Simple: A bar used to lift or force things open, or the hold the bar gets.
   - _She fitted the prize beneath the beam and pushed down hard._
   - _He wedged a rock under the bar to get a better prize on the fallen log._

## Verb

2. To value something highly; to hold it in great esteem.
   - Simple: To think something is very special and important to you.
   - _Collectors prize these coins for their rarity._
   - _She prized the quiet hours before dawn more than sleep itself._
8. To move, force up, or open something using a lever.
   - Simple: To force something open or up using a bar or tool.
   - _She prized the floorboard up with a screwdriver._
   - _Workers prize the old nails from the beams one by one._

## Adjective

5. First-rate; exceptional in quality.
   - Simple: Very good and among the best of its kind.
   - _The coach treated the young striker as his prize recruit and built the whole attack around her._
   - _Their new hire turned out to be a prize asset for the firm._
6. Having won a prize; award-winning.
   - Simple: Used for something that has won an award or contest.
   - _Judges from three counties came to see the prize bull that had swept every livestock show that summer._
   - _Judges praised the prize essay for its originality._

## Verb

10. To set or estimate the value of something; to appraise or rate it. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To work out how much something is worth.
12. To compete in a prizefight; to box in a paid contest. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To take part in a boxing match fought for money.

## Noun

11. A contest or competition held for a reward. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A contest held to win a reward.

## Origin

**Meanings 1, 3–4, 7, 9, 11** — Latin prēndere ("to take, seize") became Old French prendre ("to take, to capture"), whose past participle prise came to name a taking, a capture, a thing seized, or booty. Middle English took it over as prise. Prison, comprise, and surprise come from the same source.
**Meanings 2, 8, 10, 12** — Latin pretium ("price, value"), which also gave English price, became Old French pris ("price"), and from that came the verb preisier ("to set a price or value on, esteem"). Middle English borrowed it as prysen. Praise, appraise, and apprize belong to the same family.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/prize (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).