prizes

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of prize.

   The festival awarded cash prizes to the top three contestants.

   Winners collected their prizes on stage at the end of the evening.

   Note

   A regular plural that gathers two histories under one spelling. Most prizes today are rewards: the cash prizes of a contest, the prizes of a lottery. In the law of war, though, prizes are ships and goods captured at sea. The spelling is shared with the verb of valuing and levering. A number, article or adjective in front (three prizes, the prizes) marks the noun.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of prize.

   The collector prizes that rare coin above every other piece in her cabinet.

   Our family prizes the quiet hours we spend together each weekend.

   Note

   Usually the verb of esteem: she prizes loyalty. The same form also belongs to the lever verb, a variant of prise and pry, as in he prizes the lid off. What follows tells them apart. An object alone means valuing. An object plus off, open or up means forcing. The obsolete senses of appraising and prizefighting survive only in older texts.

   He prizes the lid off the paint tin with a screwdriver.

   She prizes the window open just wide enough to slip a hand through.

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