Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web
Related Searches
Synonyms
Nearby Words

Prize

 - 10 dictionary results
$10,000 Cash Prize
Here's your chance to win $10,000. Sign up today and win Big!
www.Valuesweeps.com

prize

1  [prahyz]
Use Prize in a Sentence
–noun
1. a reward for victory or superiority, as in a contest or competition.
2. something that is won in a lottery or the like.
3. anything striven for, worth striving for, or much valued.
4. something seized or captured, esp. an enemy's ship and cargo captured at sea in wartime.
5. the act of taking or capturing, esp. a ship at sea.
6. Archaic. a contest or match.
–adjective
7. having won a prize: a prize bull; a prize play.
8. worthy of a prize.
9. given or awarded as a prize.
Origin:
1250–1300; in senses referring to something seized, continuing ME prise something captured, a seizing < MF < L pre(hē)nsa, n. use of fem. ptp. of pre(he)ndere to take; in senses referring to something won, sp. var. of price (ME pris(e)) since the late 16th century

Synonyms:
1. premium. See reward.
$10,000 Cash Prize
Here's your chance to win $10,000. Sign up today and win Big!
www.Valuesweeps.com

prize

2  [prahyz]
–verb (used with object), prized, priz⋅ing.
1. to value or esteem highly.
2. to estimate the worth or value of.
Origin:
1325–75; ME prisen < MF prisier, var. of preisier to praise

Synonyms:
1. See appreciate.

prize

3  [prahyz] verb, prized, priz⋅ing, noun
–verb (used with object)
1. pry 2 .
–noun
2. leverage.
3. a lever.
Also, prise.

Origin:
1350–1400; ME prise < MF: a hold, grasp < L pre(hē)nsa. See prize 1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Prize
prize 1   (prīz)   
n.  

  1. Something offered or won as an award for superiority or victory, as in a contest or competition.

  2. Something worth striving for; a highly desirable possession.

adj.  

  1. Offered or given as a prize: a prize cup.

  2. Given a prize, or likely to win a prize: a prize cow.

  3. Worthy of a prize; first-class: our prize azaleas.

tr.v.   prized, priz·ing, priz·es

  1. To value highly; esteem or treasure. See Synonyms at appreciate.

  2. To estimate the worth of; evaluate.


[Alteration of Middle English pris, value, price, reward; see price.]
prize 2   (prīz)   
n.  

  1. Something seized by force or taken as booty, especially an enemy ship and its cargo captured at sea during wartime.

  2. The act of seizing; capture.


[Alteration of Middle English prise, from Old French, from feminine past participle of prendre, from Latin prehendere, prēndere, to seize; see ghend- in Indo-European roots.]
prize 3 also prise   (prīz)   
tr.v.   prized also prised, priz·ing also pris·ing, priz·es also pris·es
To move or force with or as if with a lever; pry.
n.  

  1. Leverage.

  2. Chiefly Southern U.S. Something used as a lever or for prying.


[From Middle English prise, instrument for prying, probably from prise, the taking of something; see prize2.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

prize  (n.1)
"reward," 1590s, alteration of M.E. prise (c.1300 in this sense; see price). Prize-fighter is from 1703; prize-fight from 1824. Prized "highly esteemed" is from 1538.

prize  (n.2)
"something taken by force," c.1386, from O.Fr. prise "a taking, seizing, holding," prop. fem. pp. of prendre "to take, seize," from L. prendere, contraction of prehendere (see prehensile). Especially of ships captured at sea (1512).

prize  (v.)
"to estimate," 1586, alteration of M.E. prisen "to prize, value," from stem of O.Fr. preisier (see praise).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: prize
Function: noun
1 : property (as a ship) lawfully captured in time of war
2 : the wartime capture of a ship and its cargo at sea
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
Cite This Source
Search another word or see Prize on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us:
Partner Sites:
Ask AnswersEviteExpediaHotelsHotwireLife123LiveDailyMy Way