bounty

[ boun-tee ]

noun

, plural boun·ties.

1. a premium or reward, especially one offered by a government:

   There was a bounty on his head. Some states offer a bounty for dead coyotes.

2. a generous gift.

   Synonyms: benefaction, present

3. generosity in giving.

   Synonyms: munificence, beneficence, charity, liberality

bounty

¹

/ ˈbaʊntɪ /

noun

1. generosity in giving to others; liberality
2. a generous gift; something freely provided
3. a payment made by a government, as, formerly, to a sailor on enlisting or to a soldier after a campaign
4. any reward or premium

   a bounty of 20p for every rat killed

Bounty

²

/ ˈbaʊntɪ /

noun

1. a British naval ship commanded by Captain William Bligh, which was on a scientific voyage in 1789 between Tahiti and the West Indies when her crew mutinied

Other Words From

• bounty·less adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of bounty¹

1200–50; Middle English b ( o ) unte < Anglo-French, Old French bonte, Old French bontet < Latin bonitāt- (stem of bonitās ) goodness. See boon ², -ity

Word History and Origins

Origin of bounty¹

C13 (in the sense: goodness): from Old French bontet , from Latin bonitās goodness, from bonus good

Synonym Study

See bonus.

Example Sentences

If 2020 was the face mask election, this one is turning out to be the Bounty election — you know…the “quicker picker upper” paper towels we need to clean up Trump’s unhinged meltdowns.

From Salon

The Lego sharks featured in several Lego sets from 1997, including Shark Cage Cove, Shark Attack and Deep Sea Bounty, she explained.

From BBC

“Doctor Dogbody’s Leg,” by James Norman Hall, one half of the duo that brought us the 1932 novel “Mutiny on the Bounty.”

From New York Times

In 1961, he was in Tahiti to film “Mutiny on the Bounty.”

From Los Angeles Times

This year, at the bustling Mandalay Bay Convention Center, companies like Toyota and Bounty constructed extravagant sets with fluorescent lights and scrolling banners.

From New York Times

Related Words

• donation
• gift
• largess
• premium
• prize
• reward