Adjacent Words

prize money definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: any money given as a prize

Merriam Webster's

noun Date: 1726 1. a part of the proceeds of a captured ship formerly divided among the officers and men making the capture 2. money offered in prizes

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.