reward
Americannoun
verb (used with object)
-
to recompense or requite (a person or animal) for service, merit, achievement, etc.
- Synonyms:
- remunerate, pay, compensate
-
to make return for or requite (service, merit, etc.); recompense.
noun
-
something given or received in return for a deed or service rendered
-
a sum of money offered, esp for help in finding a criminal or for the return of lost or stolen property
-
profit or return
-
something received in return for good or evil; deserts
-
psychol any pleasant event that follows a response and therefore increases the likelihood of the response recurring in the future
verb
Related Words
Reward, prize, recompense imply something given in return for good. A reward is something given or done in return for good (or, more rarely, evil) received; it may refer to something abstract or concrete: a $50 reward; Virtue is its own reward. Prize refers to something concrete offered as a reward of merit, or to be contested for and given to the winner: to win a prize for an essay. A recompense is something given or done, whether as reward or punishment, for acts performed, services rendered, etc.; or it may be something given in compensation for loss or injury suffered, etc.: Renown was his principal recompense for years of hard work.
Other Word Forms
- misreward verb (used with object)
- overreward verb
- rewardable adjective
- rewardableness noun
- rewardably adverb
- rewarder noun
- rewardless adjective
- superreward verb (used with object)
- unrewardable adjective
- unrewarded adjective
- well-rewarded adjective
Etymology
Origin of reward
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English (verb) rewarden originally, “to regard,” from Old North French rewarder “to look at,” variant of Old French reguarder; see origin at regard
Explanation
A reward is something you get for a job well done. If you study hard for that vocabulary test, an "A" might be the reward in your future. You can use reward as a verb, as when the mayor rewards a firefighter who saves a family from a terrible blaze, or as a noun, to talk about the actual payment or item that's given to the firefighter. People often offer a reward for the return of lost or stolen things, like bicycles or jewelry or dogs. Reward meant "a regarding" or "an observation" in the 1300's, but it soon came to mean "repayment for some service."
Vocabulary lists containing reward
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
There is a precedent for a new agreement to dispose of Iran’s enriched uranium in return for a substantial economic reward.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 19, 2026
A new study published in iScience shows that these ants take more direct routes to the reward, even though they do not move any faster.
From Science Daily • Apr. 18, 2026
The Warriors’ reward is a flight to Phoenix where they will take on the Suns in a Friday night matchup to decide the eighth and final playoff seed in the Western Conference.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 16, 2026
“People use prediction markets because they’re more fair, transparent, and reward being right,” Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour said following the decision.
From Barron's • Apr. 15, 2026
In November 1942, the commander of the Southern Front turned up to present thirty-two members of the 588th with commemorative watches as a reward for their service, and medals to ten others.
From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
