Adjacent Words

prise definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: to move or force, especially in an effort to get something open; "The burglar jimmied the lock": "Raccoons managed to pry the lid off the garbage pail" [syn: pry, prise, prize, lever, jimmy]
2: make an uninvited or presumptuous inquiry; "They pried the information out of him" [syn: pry, prise]
3: regard highly; think much of; "I respect his judgement"; "We prize his creativity" [syn: respect, esteem, value, prize, prise] [ant: disesteem, disrespect]

Merriam Webster's

chiefly British variant of prize V

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. & n. (also prize) --v.tr. force open or out by leverage (prised up the lid; prised the box open). --n. leverage, purchase. Etymology: ME & OF prise levering instrument (as PRIZE(1))

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Prise Prise, n. An enterprise. [Obs.] --Spenser.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Prise Prise, n. & v. See Prize, n., 5. Also Prize, v. t.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Prize Prize, v. t. To move with a lever; to force up or open; to pry. [Written also prise.]

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Prize Prize, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Prized; p. pr. & vb. n. Prizing.] [F. priser, OF. prisier, preisier, fr. L. pretiare, fr. pretium worth, value, price. See Price, and cf. Praise.] [Formerly written also prise. ] 1. To set or estimate the value of; to appraise; to price; to rate. A goodly price that I was prized at. --Zech. xi. 13. I prize it [life] not a straw, but for mine honor. --Shak. 2. To value highly; to estimate to be of great worth; to esteem. ``[I] do love, prize, honor you. '' --Shak. I prized your person, but your crown disdain. --Dryden.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Prize Prize, 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.] 1. That which is taken from another; something captured; a thing seized by force, stratagem, or superior power. I will depart my pris, or may prey, by deliberation. --Chaucer. His own prize, Whom formerly he had in battle won. --Spenser. 2. 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. --Kent. --Brande & C. (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. --Shak. I fought and conquered, yet have lost the prize. --Dryden. (c) That which may be won by chance, as in a lottery. 3. 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. --Phil. iii. 14. 4. A contest for a reward; competition. [Obs.] --Shak. 5. 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. --Bouvier. 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. --Pope. 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. To make prize of, to capture. --Hawthorne.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

see prize