Etymology : Middle English pris prize, price; more at PRICE
Pronunciation : prIz
Function : noun
Date : 14th century
1. award, reward, trophy, item won in a competition; booty, loot, plunder; acquisition, property that has been obtained from others. appreciate, esteem, respect, hold in high regard; estimate value, appraise, assess worth. valuable, of great worth; unique, outstanding; award-winning, worthy of a reward; given as an award. prize\prize\ (prīz), n. [f. prise a seizing, hold, grasp, fr. pris, p. p. of prendre to take, l. prendere, prehendere; in some senses, as 2 (b), either from, or influenced by, f. prix price. see:
prison, prehensile, and cf. pry, and also price.].
2. that which is taken from another; something captured; a thing seized by force, stratagem, or superior power. i will depart my pris, or my prey, by deliberation. his own prize, whom formerly he had in battle won.
3. hence, specifically; (a) (law) anything captured by a belligerent using the rights of war; esp., property captured at sea in virtue of the rights of war, as a vessel. (b) an honor or reward striven for in a competitive contest; anything offered to be competed for, or as an inducement to, or reward of, effort. i'll never wrestle for prize more. i fought and conquered, yet have lost the prize. (c) that which may be won by chance, as in a lottery.
4. anything worth striving for; a valuable possession held or in prospect. i press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of god in christ jesus. iii.
5. 4. a contest for a reward; competition. [obs.].
6. a lever; a pry; also, the hold of a lever. [written also prise.]prize court, a court having jurisdiction of all captures made in war on the high seas.prize fight, an exhibition contest, esp. one of pugilists, for a stake or wager.prize fighter, one who fights publicly for a reward; -- applied esp. to a professional boxer or pugilist.prize fighting, fighting, especially boxing, in public for a reward or wager.prize master, an officer put in charge or command of a captured vessel.prize medal, a medal given as a prize.prize money, a dividend from the proceeds of a captured vessel, etc., paid to the captors.prize ring, the ring or inclosure for a prize fight; the system and practice of prize fighting.
7. That which is taken from another; something captured; a thing seized by force, stratagem, or superior power.
8. Anything captured by a belligerent using the rights of war; esp., property captured at sea in virtue of the rights of war, as a vessel.
9. An honor or reward striven for in a competitive contest; anything offered to be competed for, or as an inducement to, or reward of, effort.
10. That which may be won by chance, as in a lottery.
11. Anything worth striving for; a valuable possession held or in prospect.
12. A contest for a reward; competition.
13. A lever; a pry; also, the hold of a lever.
14. To move with a lever; to force up or open; to pry.
15. To set or estimate the value of; to appraise; to price; to rate.
16. To value highly; to estimate to be of great worth; to esteem.
17. Estimation; valuation. something given for victory or superiority in a contest or competition or for winning a lottery; "the prize was a free trip to Europe" hold dear; "I prize these old photographs".
18. The spelling prise is also used in British English for meanings.
19. and 6..
20. A prize is money or something valuable that is given to someone who has the best results in a competition or game, or as a reward for doing good work. You must claim your prize by telephoning our claims line He won first prize at the Leeds Piano Competition They were going all out for the prize-money, £6,500 for the winning team.
21. You use prize to describe things that are of such good quality that they win prizes or deserve to win prizes. a prize bull. prize blooms.
22. You can refer to someone or something as a prize when people consider them to be of great value or importance. With no lands of his own, he was no great matrimonial prize.
23. Something that is prized is wanted and admired because it is considered to be very valuable or very good quality. Military figures, made out of lead are prized by collectors One of the gallery's most prized possessions is the portrait of Ginevra da Vinci.
24. If you prize something open or prize it away from a surface, you force it to open or force it to come away from the surface. He tried to prize the dog's mouth open I prised off the metal rim surrounding one of the dials He held on tight but she prised it from his fingers.
25. If you prize something such as information out of someone, you persuade them to tell you although they may be very unwilling to. Alison and I had to prize conversation out of him. Booker Prize 2002- Man Booker Prize Nobel Prize Pritzker Architecture Prize prize cases Pulitzer Prize.