noun
prize
PRYZ
noun
1
An award given to the winner of a competition, contest, or lottery.
"She won first prize in the baking contest."
"The lottery's top prize was ten million dollars."
2
Anything highly valued or worth striving for.
"The championship trophy is the ultimate prize for any athlete."
verb
1
To value something very highly.
"She prized her grandmother's ring above all her other jewelry."
adj
1
Having won an award; outstanding of its kind.
"He raises prize pigs for the county fair."
How to Use Prize
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishSomething won for coming first, or something you value very highly.
Common mistake
As a verb, "prize" means to value highly, not to physically pry something open — that older sense survives mainly in the related word "prise" or "pry."
Common pairings
win a prize
prize money
first prize
prized possession
Word Forms
prized past tense, prizes plural, prizes singular
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Etymology
From Old French prise, "a taking or seizing," from prendre, "to take" — the same root gives us "surprise" and "comprise."