prize Hear it!

prize¹ Definition

prize (prīz)

transitive verb prized, priz·ing

  1. Obsolete to set a value upon; price
  2. to value highly; esteem

Etymology: ME pris: see price

noun

  1. something offered or given to the winner of a contest
  2. something won in a game of chance, lottery, etc.
  3. a reward, premium, or the like
  4. anything worth striving for; any enviable or highly valued possession
  5. Archaic a contest or match

adjective

  1. that has received a prize a prize novel
  2. worthy of a prize; first-rate
  3. given as a prize

prize² Definition

prize (prīz)

noun

  1. Obsolete the act of capturing
  2. something taken by force; esp., a captured enemy ship and its cargo
  3. Dialectal
    1. a tool for prying; lever
    2. leverage

Etymology: ME prise, a taking hold < OFr, a taking < fem. pp. of prendre, to take < L prehendere: see prehensile

transitive verb prized, priz·ing

to pry, as with a lever

prize Synonyms

prize

n.

prize applies to something won in competition or, often, in a lottery or game of chance she won first prize in the golf tournament; award implies a decision by judges but does not connote overt competition we received an award for the best news story of the year; reward usually refers to something given in recompense for a good deed or for merit a reward was offered for the return of the lost briefcase; premium, in this connection, applies to a reward offered as an inducement to greater effort or production to pay a premium for advance delivery

prize Synonyms

prize

v.

value, esteem, cherish; see appreciate 2, like 1, 2. See syn. study at appreciate.

prize Usage Examples

Object

  • prise: Big Prizes A top prize for each of the Top 3 players.
  • item: Rhinos The Rhino horn is a highly prized item for practitioners of Asian medicine.
  • collection: Many older jigsaw puzzles have been rescued online jigsaw puzzle and restored online jigsaw puzzle and now form part of highly prized collections.
  • skill: We take reading and writing for granted, but then it was a highly prized skill.
  • year: Academic Prizes Each year, top students are honored for their exemplary performance.
  • commodity: The skins of jaguars were highly prized commodities, as recorded in the tribute pages of the Codex Mendoza.

Subject

  • collector: Complete examples in good original condition are the most highly prized by collectors.
  • employer: At the same time traditional customer service skills remain highly prized by employers.
  • culture: Rose has a very gentle but strong uplifting & balancing effect and it has been prized by all cultures since the beginning of civilization.

Adjective complement

open: First Lee Steele was allowed the freedom of SE7 to make hay on the left as the Addicks were prized open with ease.

Modifying Another Word

  • highly: Our raucous musical evenings are highly prized by the hard of hearing.
  • greatly: Hopton Wood Limestone from Middleton by Wirksworth was greatly prized.
  • especially: Especially prized were his hilarious put downs of Winston Churchill.
  • much: These were much prized for the quality of their wool.
  • particularly: Her love of shape and fine potting mean her ceramics are particularly prized in Japan.
  • so: The whole project of ordered rationality, so prized by the Enlightenment, was judged and found wanting.

Preposition: for

century: Prized for centuries by woodwind instrument makers for its tone.

Preposition: by

  • collector: Complete examples in good original condition are the most highly prized by collectors.
  • employer: At the same time traditional customer service skills remain highly prized by employers.
  • culture: Rose has a very gentle but strong uplifting & balancing effect and it has been prized by all cultures since the beginning of civilization.