award

1 of 2

verb

awarded; awarding; awards

transitive verb

1
: to confer or bestow as being deserved or merited or needed
award scholarships to disadvantaged students
2
: to give by judicial decree or after careful consideration
The jury awarded damages to the defendant.
award a contract
awardable adjective
awardee noun
awarder noun

award

2 of 2

noun

1
: something that is conferred or bestowed especially on the basis of merit or need
a film that has won several awards
2
a
: a judgment or final decision
especially : the decision of arbitrators in a case submitted to them
b
: the document containing the decision of arbitrators
Choose the Right Synonym for award

grant, concede, vouchsafe, accord, award mean to give as a favor or a right.

grant implies giving to a claimant or petitioner something that could be withheld.

granted them a new hearing

concede implies yielding something reluctantly in response to a rightful or compelling claim.

even her critics concede she can be charming

vouchsafe implies granting something as a courtesy or an act of gracious condescension.

vouchsafed the secret to only a few chosen disciples

accord implies giving to another what is due or proper.

accorded all the honors befitting a head of state

award implies giving what is deserved or merited usually after a careful weighing of pertinent factors.

awarded the company a huge defense contract

Examples of award in a Sentence

Verb The judges will award a prize to the best speaker. The winner was awarded a gold medal. A prize will be awarded to the student who sells the most tickets. The jury awarded damages to the defendant. The company is awarding the contract to the lowest bidder. He was awarded a patent for his invention. Noun Will the film win any awards at the festival? She has won numerous awards for her books.
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
By Mackenzie Hawkins | Bloomberg The US will award Intel Corp. $8.5 billion in grants and as much as $11 billion in loans to help fund an expansion of its semiconductor factories, marking the largest award from a program designed to reinvigorate the domestic chip industry. Bloomberg, The Mercury News, 20 Mar. 2024 But in August, a federal jury unanimously awarded Tammy Murillo $23.8 million and found that Officers Fred Sigman and Christopher Montague used excessive and unreasonable force in shooting her son. Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 20 Mar. 2024 Musk was set to be honored for his entrepreneurship, while Murdoch was to be awarded for his career as a media mogul. Virginia Chamlee, Peoplemag, 19 Mar. 2024 In 2011, Moiseyev was awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation for courage and heroism shown in the line of duty, according to the Defense Ministry. Radina Gigova, CNN, 19 Mar. 2024 And Papen, who had ushered Hitler directly into power, was acquitted at Nuremberg; in the nineteen-fifties, he was awarded the highest honorary order of the Catholic Church. Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 18 Mar. 2024 Clarkson awarded primary custody Also in Nov. 2020, a judge awarded Clarkson primary custody of her and Blackstock’s two kids. Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 15 Mar. 2024 City of Flint blames winter weather for recent delays The case is separate from another Flint lawsuit, which has also been settled, under which Flint residents were awarded $626.25 million to compensate them for lead poisoning. Paul Egan, USA TODAY, 14 Mar. 2024 The Chamber’s Sand in My Shoes Award, first awarded to businessman Lester Freeman in 1981, is one of Miami’s most distinguished accolades given to individuals who are deemed to have demonstrated exceptional public service in the metro Miami-Dade area. Howard Cohen, Miami Herald, 8 Mar. 2024
Noun
The award ceremony will take place on the evening of March 23. Gail Mitchell, Billboard, 21 Mar. 2024 That’s why her recent Instagram post on being snubbed by esteemed Black award ceremonies gave me pause. Jasmine Browley, Essence, 21 Mar. 2024 In total, 30 awards will be bestowed in the category streams of Documentary & Factual, Arts & Entertainment, Children & Youth, Scripted, and Podcast, in addition to the presentation of several Rockies Gala Awards to be announced soon. Michael Schneider, Variety, 21 Mar. 2024 The album shipped over two million copies and won the Soundtrack of the Year award at the 1995 Source Awards. Ade Adeniji, SPIN, 20 Mar. 2024 Last year, Betts hit a career-high 39 home runs, Ohtani won his second MVP award in three years, and Freeman batted .331. Dylan Hernández, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2024 On Friday, the Schitt's Creek actor, 77, was joined by his daughter, actress Sarah Levy, 37, and her 20-month-old son James Eugene as the actor was given his award. Hannah Sacks, Peoplemag, 9 Mar. 2024 With two gigantic blockbusters in the mix, will this year’s awards inch back over the twenty-million mark for the first time since 2020? The New Yorker, 8 Mar. 2024 The three award categories are Academic Excellence, Art & Soul and Spirit. Melanie Laughman, The Enquirer, 8 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'award.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb and Noun

Middle English, to decide, from Anglo-French awarder, agarder to look at, examine, resolve, from a- (from Latin ad-) + warder, garder to look after, guard — more at guard

First Known Use

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2a

Time Traveler
The first known use of award was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near award

Cite this Entry

“Award.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/award. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

award

1 of 2 verb
1
: to give by court decision (as after a lawsuit)
award damages
2
: to give or grant as a reward
award a prize to the best speaker

award

2 of 2 noun
: something (as a prize) that is awarded

Legal Definition

award

1 of 2 transitive verb
1
: to give in accordance with a judicial or administrative determination or decision
award punitive damages
2
: to grant as deserved
awarded the contract to the lowest bidder

award

2 of 2 noun
1
: a judgment or final decision: as
b
: a formal decision regarding benefits in a workers' compensation claim
2
: something granted especially on the basis of merit or entitlement: as
a
: a contract won by a successful bidder
b
: relief usually in the form of money (as damages or alimony) granted to a party in a legal proceeding
Etymology

Transitive verb

Anglo-French awarder, agarder to look at, decide on, impose, alteration of Old French esguarder to look at, from es-, intensive prefix + guarder to guard

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