REWARD

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does reward mean? 

• REWARD (noun)
  The noun REWARD has 5 senses:

1. a recompense for worthy acts or retribution for wrongdoing

2. payment made in return for a service rendered

3. an act performed to strengthen approved behavior

4. the offer of money for helping to find a criminal or for returning lost property

5. benefit resulting from some event or action

  Familiarity information: REWARD used as a noun is common.

• REWARD (verb)
  The verb REWARD has 3 senses:

1. bestow honor or rewards upon

2. strengthen and support with rewards

3. act or give recompense in recognition of someone's behavior or actions

  Familiarity information: REWARD used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• REWARD (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A recompense for worthy acts or retribution for wrongdoing

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Synonyms:

payoff; reward; wages

Context example:

virtue is its own reward

Hypernyms ("reward" is a kind of...):

aftermath; consequence (the outcome of an event especially as relative to an individual)

Derivation:

reward (act or give recompense in recognition of someone's behavior or actions)

reward (bestow honor or rewards upon)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Payment made in return for a service rendered

Classified under:

Nouns denoting possession and transfer of possession

Hypernyms ("reward" is a kind of...):

payment (a sum of money paid or a claim discharged)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "reward"):

bounty; premium (payment or reward (especially from a government) for acts such as catching criminals or killing predatory animals or enlisting in the military)

honorarium (a fee paid for a nominally free service)

blood money (a reward for information about a murderer)

guerdon (a reward or payment)

meed (a fitting reward)

Sense 3

Meaning:

An act performed to strengthen approved behavior

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

reinforcement; reward

Hypernyms ("reward" is a kind of...):

approval; approving; blessing (the formal act of approving)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "reward"):

carrot (promise of reward as in)

Derivation:

reward (strengthen and support with rewards)

Sense 4

Meaning:

The offer of money for helping to find a criminal or for returning lost property

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("reward" is a kind of...):

offer; offering (something offered (as a proposal or bid))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "reward"):

price (a monetary reward for helping to catch a criminal)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Benefit resulting from some event or action

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

advantage; reward

Context example:

reaping the rewards of generosity

Hypernyms ("reward" is a kind of...):

benefit; welfare (something that aids or promotes well-being)

Antonym:

penalty (the disadvantage or painful consequences of an action or condition)

• REWARD (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they reward    ... he / she / it rewards   
Past simple: rewarded   
Past participle: rewarded   
-ing form: rewarding   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Bestow honor or rewards upon

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Synonyms:

honor; honour; reward

Context example:

The scout was rewarded for courageous action

Hypernyms (to "reward" is one way to...):

recognise; recognize (show approval or appreciation of)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "reward"):

drink; pledge; salute; toast; wassail (propose a toast to)

dignify; ennoble (confer dignity or honor upon)

decorate (award a mark of honor, such as a medal, to)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Derivation:

reward (a recompense for worthy acts or retribution for wrongdoing)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Strengthen and support with rewards

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

reinforce; reward

Context example:

Let's reinforce good behavior

Hypernyms (to "reward" is one way to...):

instruct; learn; teach (impart skills or knowledge to)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

reward (an act performed to strengthen approved behavior)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Act or give recompense in recognition of someone's behavior or actions

Classified under:

Verbs of buying, selling, owning

Synonyms:

pay back; repay; reward

Hypernyms (to "reward" is one way to...):

act; move (perform an action, or work out or perform (an action))

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Somebody ----s somebody with something

Derivation:

reward (a recompense for worthy acts or retribution for wrongdoing)

 Context examples 

Individuals with a higher NM-MRI signal had greater dopamine release capacity in the striatum (a core component of reward, motor, and cognitive systems).

(Neuromelanin-sensitive MRI identified as a potential biomarker for psychosis, National Institutes of Health)

It was time for you to be rewarded for your work and experience, as well as the successes you had previously achieved.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

"Do you consider you have got your reward for a season of exertion?" asked Mr. Rivers, when they were gone.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

The day wore along, and nothing rewarded his hunt.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

The long months of intense application and study had brought their reward.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

Dora was the reward, and Dora must be won.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

I have valued myself on honourable toils and just rewards.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

It's for men to do them, and for women to reserve their love as a reward for such men.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

You have had the trouble and we shall have the reward.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

When we make little sacrifices we like to have them appreciated, at least, and for a minute Amy was sorry she had done it, feeling that virtue was not always its own reward.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)