pride

verb

prided; priding

transitive verb

: to indulge (oneself) in pride

—now usually used in the phrase pride oneself on to describe taking pride in some ability, quality, etc.

She was a girl who prided herself on her carefully blasé and supercilious attitude towards life.

—P. G. Wodehouse

Did you know?

Vanity vs. Pride

People often turn to the dictionary in search of the minute and subtle differences between two similar words. The closely related duo of vanity and pride, which overlap significantly in some respects yet differ in others, offer one such example. Putting aside such uses as pride referring to “a company of lions” and vanity meaning “a dressing table,” each of these words may refer to a state of excessive self-esteem. However, pride may also signify a feeling of satisfaction or happiness (either in oneself or on behalf of others) based on something that is well done; vanity is unlikely to be used in this manner. For a well-worded explanation of this distinction, we might look to Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, in which the character Mary opines: “Vanity and pride are different things, though the words are often used synonymously. A person may be proud without being vain. Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves, vanity to what we would have others think of us.”

Synonyms of pride

• congratulate
• plume

Examples of pride in a Sentence

he prides himself on the quality of his writing

Recent Examples on the Web

In a city that prides itself on pizza, earning top honors is no small feat. —Zoey Goto, Travel + Leisure, 2 June 2026

The 5-foot-11, 218-pound Dowdle is a little more upright than the compact, 5-8, 208-pound Warren, who still prides himself on being a menace in pass protection. —CBS News, 31 May 2026

Adam Silver’s parity era prides itself on equal opportunity. —Joel Lorenzi, New York Times, 31 May 2026

Glengoyne prides itself on operating the slowest stills in Scotland and completely eschewing peat. —Joseph V Micallef, Forbes.com, 30 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing pride

• badge of honor/pride
• be puffed (up) with pride
• matter of pride
• pride and joy
• pride of place
• pride oneself on
• puff (up) with pride
• self-pride
• Swallow your pride
• take pride in

Rhymes for pride

• bide
• bride
• chide
• cried
• died
• dried
• dyed
• eid
• eide
• eyed
• flied
• fried

Kids Definition

pride

1 of 2 noun

ˈprīd 

1

: too high an opinion of one's own ability or worth : a feeling of being better than others

2

: a reasonable and justifiable sense of one's own worth : self-respect

3

: a sense of pleasure that comes from some act or possession

4

: something of which one is proud

our pride and joy

5

: a group of lions

pride

2 of 2 verb

prided; priding

: to think highly of (oneself)