1a thing given as a reward to the winner of a competition or in recognition of an outstanding achievement:her invention won first prize in a national contest
a thing, especially an amount of money or a valuable object, that can be won in a game of chance:the star prize in the charity raffle [as modifier]:prize money
something of great value that is worth struggling to achieve:the prize will be victory in the general election
2chiefly historical an enemy ship captured during the course of naval warfare:the sloop had been taken as a prize
[late Middle English: from Old French prise 'taking, booty', from prendre 'take']
adjective
[attributive]
having been or likely to be awarded a prize in a competition:a prize bull
denoting something for which a prize is awarded:a prize crossword
excellent of its kind; outstanding:a prize example of how well organic farming can function
complete; utter:you must think I’m a prize idiot
verb
[with object]
value extremely highly:the berries were prized for their healing properties (as adjective prized)the bicycle was her most prized possession
Phrases
(there are) no prizes for guessing
used to convey that something is obvious:there’s no prizes for guessing what you two have been up to!
Origin:
Middle English: the noun, a variant of price; the verb (originally in the sense 'estimate the value of') from Old French pris-, stem of preisier 'to praise, appraise' (see praise)
