That which is taken from another; something captured; a thing seized by force, stratagem, or superior power.
"The merchant haggled over the prize for a sack of grain, though modern buyers would simply call it the cost."
Obsolete form of price.
In plain English: A prize is something special you win after competing against others.
"The winning team received a trophy as their prize."
Usage: Use "prize" to refer to an award or valuable possession given for winning a competition or contest. Do not use it to mean cost or monetary value, which is the correct meaning of "price."
To consider highly valuable; to esteem.
"The community prizes honesty above all other virtues in its members."
In plain English: To prize something means to value it highly and care deeply for it.
"The chef decided to prize the tough skin off the orange."
Usage: Use the verb prize only when you mean to hold something in high regard or value it deeply, not when referring to an award or competition. It is often paired with abstract concepts like virtue, honor, or freedom rather than physical objects.
Having won a prize; award-winning.
"The team celebrated their victory after winning the national science fair as an award-winning project."
"The team won many prizes in the competition."
Usage: Use "prize" as an adjective to describe something that has won an award or competition, such as a prize-winning essay. Do not use it to mean valuable or expensive, which are better expressed with words like precious or costly.
The word prize comes from the Old French phrase for "a taking" or "capture," which itself derives from the Latin verb meaning to seize. It entered English with this original sense of something captured during a conflict, eventually evolving to mean an award given in recognition of achievement.