Meaning & use
prize
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Meanings
nouncountable
Something valuable that you get for winning a competition, game, or race.
Grammar: Countable, so you can say a prize, the first prize, or several prizes.
Patterns
- win a prize
- the first prize
- a prize for something
- give somebody a prize
She won first prize in the school science fair.
The prize for the best photograph was a new camera.
All the children received a small prize for taking part.
nouncountable
An amount of money or goods that someone wins in a lottery or similar game of chance.
Grammar: Often used with words like jackpot, cash, or lottery: the top prize.
Patterns
- the top prize
- a cash prize
- win a prize
He bought a ticket and won the top prize of two million dollars.
The lottery prize was shared between three winners.
nounsingularfigurative
Something that is worth trying hard to get or achieve.
Grammar: Used in the pattern the prize is something; usually with the.
Patterns
- the prize is something
- the prize of something
For many athletes, an Olympic medal is the ultimate prize.
The prize for the company was a share of a huge new market.
verbtransitiveformal
To value something very highly and treat it as precious.
Grammar: Takes an object and is not used in the passive very often: she prized her freedom.
Patterns
- prize something above something
- prize something highly
She prized her grandmother's ring above everything else she owned.
The village prizes its quiet way of life.
He is a player whom the team prizes highly.
Word forms
| plural | prizes |
|---|
Common combinations
- win a prize
- Our class won a prize for the best garden.
- first prize
- She took first prize in the singing contest.
- a prize winner
- The prize winner will be announced on Friday.
- prize money
- The players share the prize money equally.
- a consolation prize
- He didn't win, but he got a consolation prize.
Synonyms and how they differ
- award
- Award is the general word for something given officially for good work, while prize usually suggests a contest or competition.
- reward
- A reward is given for helping or for finding something lost, not for beating other people.
- trophy
- A trophy is the physical object, often a cup or statue, that a winner keeps; a prize may be money or goods.
Word family
- prizewinner noun
- A person who has won a prize.
- prizewinning adjective
- Describing something that has won a prize, as in a prizewinning novel.
Commonly confused: prize or price? prize or prise?
prize vs price
Price is what you pay for something; prize is what you win. They sound almost the same, so check the spelling.
prize vs prise
In British English prise means to force something open, as in prise the lid off; in American English this is spelled pry.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'prize' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Prized' here means valued highly, which fits the verb sense. Option 1 should be 'price' (cost), option 2 needs 'pried' or British 'prised' (forced open), and option 3 is illogical because prizes go to winners, not losers.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “prize”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.